The Lost Stories of the Guardian Saga
by Ryan Armstrong
Summary: This is a collection of short stories from the Guardian Saga, fleshing out some of the lesser known characters, and shedding lights on some of the bigger mysteries of the series.
1. Preface

There are some stories that are beyond memory, some stories that go beyond the realm of time, and some that become forgotten f

_There are some stories that are beyond memory, some stories that go beyond the realm of time, and some that become forgotten for all those who knew them are now gone. These are all known as lost stories._

First and foremost the stories that come next are a short story collection. When you have two large stories written in a first person, there are certain things that are hard to include because the character might not be in that moment or scene. There were a lot of unanswered questions, at least from my perspective after _Birthright_, and I felt that maybe some more back story needed to be added as well. What we have now included in this text is a little more explanation, and at the same time a few more questions. I feel as if some of the readers may not like some of the stories, while new readers might enjoy them more than Soliloquy or Birthright. They seem to have a more Power Ranger feel to them than the stories before, but whatever the case the stories are coming.

With any luck, you'll see a new one every week on Monday for the next month and a half or so. That being said, and Christmas day only several hours away on the East Coast, here is an early Christmas gift.


	2. Shalanari Part 1

The door slowly closed with barely a sound

The door slowly closed with barely a sound. Mady opened her eyes, and poked her head around the corner. Padding softly towards the glass door she inched her way down the wood grain of the wall. Her breathes were shallow as she slowly turned her head to gaze through the glass, and into the darkness. He had told her to be here, at this time, but she didn't know what to expect, only that some truth would be revealed. She felt fear at the prospect of this truth, what it meant for her, and her future. Could it be some crazy secret; was it something stupid, something teenage? Evan hadn't made it sound like that though. His tone had unnerved her, made her feel weak, and helpless. There had been something in his eyes that scared her, something she had never seen in the years she had known him.

She watched silently, looking into the darkness trying to figure out what the secret could have been, when suddenly there were two bright flashes in the darkness the whizzed across the room. Her gaze intensified, almost as if she had seen a wizard do magic. Her concentration was broken by the sound of a movement, and laughter, and quickly she ducked into a nearby alcove with a bench. She could hear whispering and giggles. A male, and female. The tingling of keys was the next audible sound heard, and slowly the door opened. A horrified look came over her face. She didn't know what they were walking into, only that it wasn't going to be good.

As the door closed a second time, she again rushed forward as she saw an arc of energy jump from the darkness, and strike the guy who just went into the room. Then there was a flurry of movement, and suddenly there he was, with a gun, pointing into the darkness. She had never seen Keith look so shook up. Adjusting her position so she could see better, she could see Evan holding onto the girl with a gun to her head. A look of terror came over Mady's face. She had been ready for some things, but not for this. Where had the guns come from? How did a standoff come about? Had Evan planned this all along?

They exchanged dialogue, and then slowly Keith surrendered. She didn't know what had happened. The gun was on the ground, but Evan looked like he had been punched in the stomach. He flew back into the wall dropping his weapon, and the girl collapsed away. Keith's demeanor changed, and suddenly he had become someone she never met. The way he carried himself, his attitude, it was as if she was starring at a completely different person. She was scared of this of person. He was almost not real.

In terror she turned away from the door, collapsing against the paneling next to it, falling to her bottom as her eyes started to water. She knew that her entire life had just changed as she bore witness to different kind of entities. Something different, and beyond human, One, she thought she knew, thought she cared for, and the other an acquaintance of several years. She began to fear for her life as her thoughts changed course to her own survival. Keith had done things that were supposed to be impossible, would he do those things to her if she tried to reveal his secret to others? What of Evan, and why did he bring her here? Was it trap? Almost on cue, a white surge of energy leapt down from the soft dim lights that lit the alcove nearby, and took human form. The glimmer disappeared to reveal a very focused Evan. Turning to look down at Mady he stared at her sternly, but not in a threatening manner, though she was too much in shock to make a sound.

He lowered himself down to look at her, and his face began to warm cautiously. He examined her slowly, and carefully turned to place a hand to her face to caress it gently, but she pulled away instead, frightened for her existence.

"Sssshhh," Evan said in a calming tone. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." She whimpered in response. Evan regarded her coolly, playing the part of the hero, a part he rarely if ever took on. "I'm sorry you had to see that, but I thought you should know."

"What are you?" she asked softly, slowly turning to face him. Her eyes were soaked, as soft streams of water had streamed out the ducts, and down her face. She almost looked like a frightened child, not the pretty young woman she had been known to be.

"That's hard to explain," he tried to tell her. "I'm sort of the result of an accident. I got hit by a bolt of lightning, and this is what happened."

"What about Keith?" she asked.

At the mention of his adversary, Evan's expression darkened, as he looked at the doorway to see the empty room beyond, knowing that the people inside had safely been ported away by Keith. "He's not like me. He's been lying to all of us all along, lying to you especially. He's an alien. Part of a race that is on its way to take over the world." Evan had embellished the last part of his statement for her ears, never knowing that he was more right than he thought. "I'm trying to stop him."

Mady sensed deception, but she wasn't sure she could trust her own instincts at the moment. She was beyond confused, beyond reason as well. She had seen Evan take a hostage, but at the same time, she had known Keith for two years now, and never even suspected him capable of the things he had done. He was just some lost puppy to her almost. Always chasing after her, always with his own ways, and habits. He was different, and now she knew why, or at least had a reasonable explanation to why. She turned her gaze back to the doors to see if they were still inside, but only found the empty room. What had become of the others who entered, the other innocent people who had become wrapped up in this just like her? Would Keith hurt them? Hadn't Evan tried too? Sniffing into the cool air of the night that had filled the hallway, she turned to look at Evan again. "Why show me this? Why not go to the authorities? Why mess up my life with this?"

"Because your strong," he told her. "Because you can take it, and most importantly because you can stand up to him. You're his kryptonite Mady. He lives and dies by your sympathy, or hate. If we can knock him off guard, we can stop him before his people get here. If we can stop him, we can stop them."

She shook her head, rather negatively. "This is crazy Evan. We're just two people against…a really bad thing. This isn't the movies, we're going to die or something."

He stood up before her, and much like she had seen Keith moments before, she saw him in a different light, and suddenly a different person. Was he stronger, or taller? Or did having power just make people seem that way? She wondered at this, but it was his next words that really struck her, something she never forgot. "We're more than just two." He offered her his hand to raise her from the ground, and she took it, albeit reluctantly. She stood up, and looked into his eyes. "Come with me, and I'll show you. I'll show you everything."

She looked back towards the library, and then back down the hallway she had come. Things were so different ten minutes ago, but then again, so was she. Would things ever be like that again she wondered. Would she be some teenager again, or was she about to step into the world of being an adult? She looked back towards the darkened library, at the spot she had last seen Keith, and a hint of pain struck her. She trusted Keith, and to some extent she still did. She knew Evan was lying to her in some form, but he at least had the curtsey to tell her what was really going on. Keith kept her in the dark. Maybe the betrayal was worse in the end, the hiding of secrets. She turned back to Evan, and nodded slowly.

A small grin played across his face, and he smiled as the two of them became covered in white light disappearing into the hallway, and setting a path that could only end in death for one of them.


	3. The Acolytes

The black sedan with government plates rolled up the drive to the large house

The black sedan with government plates rolled up the drive to the large house. The house sat on top of a hill, surrounded by gardens on each side, each of them well kept, and maintained with a sense of art mixed with professionalism. The car came to a stop before the front door to the house which of course had two doors instead of the traditional one, and several men in dark suits, sporting sunglasses emerged from it, and descended the staircase to the drive. They were there to great not the driver, but the passenger in the back seat.

The door opened, and a well dressed man, a little older than thirty stepped out of the car. He wore a similar dark suit, but sported no thick dark frames that the others had. An earpiece was visible in one ear. His demeanor was calm, and professional as the other men approached him. The tallest one, a dark skinned man greeted him.

"Agent Blake," he said. "Welcome, the Senator is waiting for you in his study." Agent Henry Blake nodded to the other Agent, and ascended the stairs to the doorway. Crossing the threshold he entered a room that was easily three times the size of his small Washington apartment. He noted the fine art and furniture that decorated the room, and wondered if a career in politics was in his cards in the future. A future he knew was beginning to become complicated with the presence of a certain Red Ranger in it. Finishing his rapid inspection of the room, he was lead to a room in another part of the house, and quickly the door opened into what was clearly the Senator's private office. The Senator was in the midst of a phone call, and motioned for Blake to enter the room quickly, and sit down. Blake noted the different trophies on the wall, as well as certain newspaper clippings, academic achievements, and awards that the Senator had been given throughout his no doubt privileged life. Blake could only think of his childhood of living with his single mother, and having half the things the other kids in class did.

Snapping back to reality as the Senator placed the receiver back on to the set; he put on his game face, and regarded the Senator calmly. The Senator was an older man in his fifties, well placed, and well accomplished. It was rumored he would up for the presidency soon, possibly in the next election which meant he was high brass. This investigation was big for the Bureau, and Blake knew it, which meant cooperation was key. And if he messed this up, his job was toast. "Blake is it? You know why you're here?"

"Yes sir," nodded Blake. "I was briefed on the flight over to Pennsylvania. It seems you have been getting threats from a strange cult threatening to take your daughter."

"That's right," he replied. He looked down at his desk in thought, and then regarded the federal agent again. "I'm used to receiving threats on my life for some time now, which is why I have a secret service detail that constantly monitors the house. However having other family members threatened specifically is new, and not something I find to my liking. Lauren is just a young girl, barely in high school. She's my little girl. Do you have kids Agent Blake?"

"No," said Blake shaking his head negatively. "Not married."

"Then it might be hard for you to relate too," said the Senator, "but that girl is my entire life. She comes before my wife, before me, and before my constituents, and nothing can happen to her. They sent you over because your supposedly one of their best. They have yet to tell me why, but I'm sure you will prove your worth. My only hope is that it won't become necessary to do so."

"Senator I assure you, you will have my undivided focus on this case," Blake told him. "I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure no harm comes to your daughter."

"I hope you do," said the Senator. "And as I said before, hopefully nothing will come of it." Blake nodded in agreement, as the Senator motioned for dismissal. Blake stood up, and slowly left the office.

It was three days later that Blake found himself in front of his laptop in his makeshift command center he had set up in the Senator's dining room. His search was simple, locate any, and all information on the Acolytes, the group making threats against the Senator's daughter. His search had been frustrating to say the least. He wish the table before him could have been splayed with surveillance photos, or mug shots of key members, but instead all that sat upon the polished surface was his laptop. The group was mysterious to say the least. No recorded members with faces could be found. For all he could tell, they hadn't existed past February of last year. Then suddenly they began to make rumblings. They had been associated with a number of movements and very shortly found their way onto the list that the Department of Homeland Security regarded as their Terror Watchlist. Three days and still he had yet to produce any good intel on his suspects. He began to feel hopeless, and that coupled with the fear of losing his job for failure to produce any relevant data that could protect Lauren.

Frustrated he collapsed his head into his hands, pushing his hair back as he let out an audible sigh. This was too much for him. Even the case involving the stolen alien artifacts where he had to infiltrate as an undercover agent was light years easier than this. However it was in this position that he was distracted by the crash of glass. It wasn't the sound of glasses falling to the floor either, for he had enough experience to distinguish the two sounds. This could only be one thing in his mind, a window. Standing up quickly he lifted his left wrist to his mouth. "Douglas, report."

Silence was his only response in his earpiece, and this left him somewhat apprehensive. Not wasting the moment, he unclipped the leather latch over his sidearm, and slowly placed his hand on the holster ready to brandish his sidearm if need be. Leaving the living room he intended to head towards the sight of the disturbance, but several obstacles lay in front of him, namely a narrow hallway. The house was too quiet, and he felt it. The Senator was back in Washington, as was his security detail, so the Bureau had only dispatched one other agent for backup, and his failure to respond could only mean one thing. Almost to add credibility to his fears, a loud scream pierced the stillness of the house. It came form Lauren's room.

Breaking out into a full run, Blake took off down the hallway, and raced up the stairs towards Lauren's room. Upon the landing of the second floor is where the mission started to become hazardous. Shots ran out towards him, and he had to throw himself back down the stairs he had ascended to dodge them as they punctured into the drywall behind him. Racing up the stairs but staying low, he aimed his sidearm back down the hallway at the place where the carpeted stairs and the second floor met, but as his eyes took stock of the hallway, he found nothing. Racing forward again, he shot down the hallway to her room. Entering sidearm first, he found it empty, and again turned to race down the hallway towards the backstairs. Hearing the heavy footfalls upon it, he charged down after the soft echoes, and into the large kitchen.

Cautiously examining the scene he arrived on in the kitchen he found no one awaiting his entrance, and turned towards the back door, which was just swinging shut. Racing outside into the backyard he found the world suddenly empty. In front of him was a vast field that sat below the hill that house rested upon him. The cold air punctured through his suit, and undergarments into every inch of warmth his body tried to emit. The cloudy sky made the world seem even colder, but the worst part of all was that there was no sign of the Senator's daughter. Lauren, and the people that had taken her had just disappeared completely. Placing his hands on his knees, and leaning over, Blake panted trying to catch his breath. Anger, and frustration were present in every nerve that fired in his brain, but his sense of duty came first above the two raw emotions. He reached into his jacket with his free hand and retrieved his mobile handset. Dialing was not a necessity at this point, there was only one number he could dial. "This is Blake, Agent Douglas is down. Requesting a forensic team on sight, as well as road blocks in a ten mile radius of the house. Lauren has been abducted……"

The school was busy as the sound of chatter filled the old wooden hallways of the almost ancient boarding school. There were rumors of snow on the horizon, and this just a week after winter vacation. For the boarders it didn't mean no school, just more fun in between classes. For some though snow just meant a time to relax or to see something new besides the green grass that occupied much of the campus. Some people didn't care one way or the other what the weather was outside. Gaji was one of these people, at least most of the time. He was heading down the main hall of the school that stretched from one tower to the other, and that all the classrooms lined. The stoic boy of Indian descent was cracking a smile as he walked with a young girl holding onto his arm, and a cohort of his just by her side. He had chased the girl since Freshman year of high school, and though they had their problems now and then, he had won her this winter. The winter of their Senior year.

Not many could say that of Mady as she clung to his arm. She smiled, a very real smile as she felt at home upon his arm. She was interested in him, for he was the strong and silent type which was a little different for her. Beside her was her ally, though few knew of his nefarious nature. Gaji was unaware of Evan's true side, even despite Gaji's unique abilities that the two of them were unaware of. Many strange dealings surrounded the three of them, but few have ever known it. Certainly not Keith at this stage, for at this point, he was still training with Peter.

Their conversation was not relevant to this story, but what was, was the expression that dawned across Gaji's face as he peered down the hall to the center of the hallway that expanded to a main entrance. Keith would stand in the center of the hallway a little under a month from now, in the middle of the night, defending his worse enemy. Gaji's expression though was much akin to having an ex-girlfriend walk in at just the in-opportune moment. However the professional looking man wearing the government suit, and the trench coat was less then worried about how his resource felt about his sudden presence. Mady could sense the change in Gaji's demeanor, and looked up to him with worried eyes as he tensed up. Even Evan detected a strange vibe from his very relaxed friend.

"Is everything alright?" asked Mady as she followed his gaze to the gentlemen waiting for Gaji.

"Yeah," he said lying to her. "Its just an old friend of my father." Shaking her loose, he quickened his pace towards the main area as Mady and Evan stopped, left behind. Evan expression darkened as he stared down the corridor to the man in the trenchcoat. He and Mady exchanged a knowing look, then turned their attention back to their friend.

Agent Blake watched as Gaji closed the distance between the two of them. Glancing back at his former shared company he first looked at the girl, and then the boy. Evan and Blake locked eyes for only a moment, but it was an exchange Blake would never forget. If he had known what that boy had meant for the future of not only his country, but his world, he would have ended the boy's life without hesitation. However, at the moment, he was here on other business. Motioning towards the large room that overlooked the southern lawn across from the main entrance, the two of them entered through glass doors which Gaji closed behind them. Blake didn't waste a second, because he knew he couldn't. "I need your help."

"My family has already told you we don't intend to participate anymore with the government," Gaji informed him. "We're done; we believed our treatment would have been better than it was."

"Well I'm sorry for that," remarked Blake, "but I didn't have anything to do with that. I understand that your father will make a full recovery, but making reparations is not why I'm here. A young girl is missing, and I need your help to find her before she's killed."

"I'm not inclined to assist you," returned Gaji coolly. He wasn't one for writing people off to their fates if he could do something about it, but there was something about this man he didn't like.

"Then help her," Blake told him, "Because that's all I care about, finding her before its too late."

Gaji examined Blake carefully, trying to gauge the sincerity of the man before him. Gaji, and Blake would meet again in a room full of important representatives to determine the fate of the world, and how it would respond to a threat of imminent invasion. At that time they would be allies, united against a common enemy, but for the moment he didn't trust the G-Man's motives. "No."

"Look," said Blake sighing, realizing he was doomed before he walked through the doors, "I just need to know where she is at this moment." Seeing the reluctant boy made him even more frustrated. "I can do the rest, your family doesn't have to get involved, just point me in the right direction. Please."

Sighing Gaji drooped his shoulders, and turned to look back at the students strolling down the hallway. Looking beyond and out to the drive, he could see the horizon of gray clouds rolling in, and knew that the cold would be coming soon. He wouldn't want to be out in the cold and helpless to boot, at the hands of someone else's mercy. Turning back to Blake he regarded him softly. "Do you have something belonging to the subject?"

Blake removed an item from his coat, and tossed it to Gaji. Opening his hands, the future Green Ranger caught it, and looked at it. It was a hairbrush, belonging to Lauren who was now missing. Looking back up at Blake he again turned his focus downwards, and began to concentrate. Shifting images began to fill his mind. Swirling lights gave-away to a clearer picture, until he finally began to see objects, and people. They were moving somewhere, somewhere through a city. A road sign, it was still Pennsylvania, maybe Philadelphia. Looking around he could tell there were others around, almost like they were passengers. A bus, and more too boot, a school bus. They were heading west. "A school bus, heading west out of Philly. On the main drag."

Blake smiled and nodded, as he took the brush back from Gaji, who nodded and began to leave the room. "Thanks."

"What are you going to do now?" asked Gaji. "You don't have a warrant to search it, and you can't get it through the courts. Best you can hope for is it runs a red light, and a cop pulls it over."

"I have another resource that can handle these types of situations," said Blake, removing his handset from his coat.

"I hope you find her," said Gaji softly, before opening the door to the main hallway.

"Me too," said Blake as he turned away from the student who quietly left the room. Turning away, and facing out towards the lawn as flakes began to fall from the sky, he heard a familiar voice pickup on other end of the phone. "Sean, its Blake. I need to talk to him, put him through…."

Night had fallen, and a chilled rain fell through the city making the streets just a little slicker. A yellow school bus came to a stop light, and applied its brakes causing its rear taillights to become lit. Other drivers took very little note of it, to them it was just another bus, no doubt transporting students to or from some sort of trip or sporting event. No one could possibly know what was taking place inside. For the most part the passengers inside were young, almost too young. They had been recruited by the Acolytes from the different ranks of population. They were brought together because of their disunity with the rest of society, something the leader of the so called cult could sympathize with. But this cult was not religious based, in fact the term order would be more proper to attach to this group. They were very much like a para-military group, but their origins were much sinister than even they knew. The windows were lined with students, but only one per seat, except in the center of the bus, where an older man sat with Lauren opposite him. She was blindfolded, and bound at the hands, and just to be sure she wasn't going to attempt anything dangerous, the older man had a firearm leveled at her.

Their mission was simple. Three of them, the older man included had taken her from her home, and now they were going to transport her to a special location that they controlled where they would hold her for either ransom, or for leverage. Even they weren't sure yet. However for as much as they had seen so far since they had become Acolytes, what soared above them was still something they had yet to see. Keith had left a training session with Peter, and after rangering up, took flight into the air over Philly to patrol for the rogue bus. Spotting it wasn't hard, he could read Lauren's fear from literally a mile away, and as he flew through the darkened skies with the frozen rain pleating his armor, he considered very carefully as to how to handle this situation. Points of entry were his main concern, how to breach the transport with the most efficiency, but not give them too much time to react. He could just go in through the window or the back door, but that would draw the attention of the other motorists about the bus, which would compromise his existence. His only vantage point was the roof, and cutting in with his Psy Saber. He would rather just have Wing Zero'd a way into the roof using a laser beam, but his Enea wasn't powerful enough, and months lay ahead before he would discover the Guardian Armor.

Dropping through the night sky like a falling bullet, he landed on the roof of the bus in a kneeled position so that the structure would absorb most of the impact. He had no doubt that the landing had created a sound inside, but as he ignited his saber, he didn't worry about surprise anymore. Cutting a hole big enough to fit through, he gave a soft jump, and fell through the hole as the metal gave way beneath him. Landing in the aisle with the yellow wet metal below him, he found the situation in a panic. Several of the young people were ready to block him, but as they gazed at him shock stayed their hands. Keith stood fully erect, but his hands moved into a defensive position, ready to strike both mentally and physically if need be. The older man had already locked his arm around Lauren's neck, and had a gun to the poor girl's head. His finger twitched desperately beside the trigger, ready to clench at any moment. Trying to fall back on his new training, Keith opened his mind to the weaves around him, and found everyone very calm for the most part, though he suspected that situation wouldn't remain the status quo for very long.

"Who are you?" asked the older man, clearly the leader of the group. He pressed Lauren up against him as he waited for the answer, fear starting to become clear in his eyes. Keith had the choice to play on fear and try and sway the situation to his favour, but he didn't always like doing that. However seeing similar responses in those around him, he felt it best that maybe fear was the only safe way to play.

"I'm the end of the road if you don't hand her over now," he thought. But he didn't say it. Instead he stood firm and tall as mental energy began to build about his form. He wasn't going to waste time with words; that just put you in a difficult place you never wanted to deal with. The Acolytes on the bus recognized this, as the two closest to Keith charged into action. Foolishly they reached out to grab the Red Ranger, but instead they found themselves pulling their arms back in pain as the mental energy around Keith zapped their appendages.

The older man stood up, as the others around him did as well. They charged at the Red Ranger in the confined space of the bus, which would prove to be a vital mistake on their part. As they came at him, Keith would lift them up with his mind, and toss them back over the tops of the seats, and even behind him, but as he worked his way through the ranks of the cultists, and was nearly to the older man, he neglected the weaves behind him, as he was struck from behind, and fell forward. He could hear a noise behind him, and then the rushing of air, which in his mind could only mean that the rear door was being opened, but the bus had failed to stop. He pushed himself off the ground with his arms, still thinking in a human sense, and as he stood up he took a kick to the chest from the older man which forced him back. Flaying his hands, trying to grab a hold of something, the Red Ranger tried to keep his balance, and stance as the wind behind him wanted to suck him backwards. He could see the frightened look in Lauren's face as the older man stalked towards the Ranger.

In a flash, the older man tried to kick him again, but Keith blocked it, as one of the Acolytes dropped his legs from the seat next to him and tripped him, sending Keith back to the tread of the aisle. Both his arms were seized, and he was thrown down the aisle to the back door, where he managed to grab a hold of the bars to the seats of the final row. With his legs dangling out the back of the bus, he looked forward to see the older man coming towards him. The Ranger cursed himself for the mistakes he had made, realizing this should have been in and out in no time, but these rank amateurs had gotten the best of him. Feeling a hand trying to pry his fingers off the bar, he looked up, and found to his shock someone he knew. It was a girl in his class, or at least what used to be his class when he was at the boarding school. Her red hair, clearly dyed, fell to her shoulders, and her eyes bore a dark look to them, almost exotic. She tried frantically to shake the Ranger loose, unaware she was about to condemn a friend to pain. Keith snapped back to reality, and fought to maintain his grip, but the older man was upon him, setting his foot upon Keith's arm. He pressed down, and even with the armor Keith could feel part of the pressure again his arm. His nerves tense, ready to let go, but his mental focus kept his fingers glued around the bar.

Slowly the man leaned down towards the helmet and whispered softly so only the Ranger could hear. "I don't care who you are, or what you can do. This girl is coming with us, and not you or anyone else can stop us." With that he fiercely stood up, and with his other foot, kicked the Ranger in his helmeted head, but the impact shook Keith's nerves, and sent him flying out the back door. Keith's field of vision went dark as he shot back into the cold, sleeting night, and almost into the windshield of the traffic behind him. He forced himself back into the air, ready to give the leader of the Acolytes a good piece of mind, as he flew back towards the bus. Just as he was about to reach it, there was a bright flash, and the bus was gone, as in disappeared. Even the traffic around it seemed stunned, and shocked, unbelieving of what they had just witnessed. Keith hovered in the air above it, thrown off for but a moment, before his eyes rolled back into his head, in a feeling of stupidity, and frustration.

"Now what?" asked Sean over the communications line. He had watched the entire skirmish from the safety of his home across the nation, and was completely confused as to what had happened.

"Tell Blake," Keith told him, "I couldn't get her back."

"He's not going to be very happy about that," said Sean.

"He doesn't have to be," said the Ranger.

"Any idea what just happened?" asked Sean.

"Yeah, a pretty good one," replied Keith as he began to build a theory in his mind. "We just can't tell Blake about it. If he puts up a fuss, just tell him, I'm not Superman." Slowly Keith hovered in the air, watching the spot where the bus had been moments prior, still holding out just a small amount of hope it would suddenly decide to become visible, and he would have another shot at it, but instead he knew he was going to have a busy night; one of those kinds of nights.

Blake took a drag from the cigarette he held in his left hand, and slowly removed it, spewing the toxic smoke into the evening air. He rarely smoked, if ever, but in this case he felt he could make an exception. He had lost a Senator's daughter, and not even his best resource could save her. At this point he wondered if the cultists would panic and kill the girl before things became too unsure. However, Keith had sounded confident over the phone when he had called him, and that gave him hope. He felt Keith was overconfident at times, but he was capable of pulling miracles out of his ass on occasion, and Blake desperately hoped this was one of those occasions. The doors behind him opened up, and he tossed the butt away onto the snow covered stone pavement. Gaji entered the alcove area of the back door having been sent for by Blake. The federal agent had made special arrangements with the school which allowed him access to his associate should the need arise, and he could only hope that the kid could get a fix on Lauren.

"I thought we were done," said Gaji rather sorely. "I don't appreciate being taken away from my studies. Especially on nights like this."

"Well, we're not," said Blake sternly. "We need to find that girl, and my contact lost the bus."

"How?" asked Gaji. "It's a giant yellow school bus."

"Well let's just say it vanished without a trace," said Blake. "So I was hoping you could give me a little bit more to go on." He tossed Gaji the item he had before, hoping that the boy could use it to pinpoint Lauren. Gaji looked at it, and then back at Blake. Sighing because of his apathy towards the situation, he concentrated on the object, hoping that that would be the end of the matter once he gave the agent a little more information. However, this time nothing came up, it was a blank. Gaji opened his eyes, and shook his head negatively towards Blake. Blake raised his fist, and stomped his foot, swearing into the crisp air.

"Don't worry about it," said a new voice, as Keith emerged from the shadows of the night and into the light of the alcove area. "There's another lead we can run down."

"Keith," said Gaji, more of a matter of fact than wonderment. He wondered what his aquaintence of earlier times was doing here on a night like this.

"Gaji," regarded Keith coolly. Keith had a good deal of respect for Gaji, even after he learned of Gaji's abilities form Blake. However that still didn't separate the fact that he was now with the girl Keith cared dearly for. Keith had made it clear that he had felt indifferent about the whole situation, but the prospect of working with the guy at the moment, was less than welcomed in the Ranger's eyes. It wasn't just jealously though that Keith felt though, it was a little resentment too. Gaji was different as well, but he still was able to walk a rather normal path. Maybe it was just the idea that there was another choice stung in Keith's mind. Turning to Blake, he explained himself though, "I saw someone on the bus I recognized, a student from this school. Her name is Sarah."

"Sarah," said Gaji softly.

"Sarah," repeated Keith, annoyed at having to do so. "Did you see her earlier tonight?"

"Yeah," said Gaji, "she's studying in girl's homeroom. She's on probation or something." The two turned to Blake, and Blake raised an eyebrow.

Throwing his hands into the air, he announced, "Then lets go get her."

"Can I leave now?" asked Gaji cynically, not wanting to join the group that was forming. Keith's role had become apparent, but he still wondered as to how Keith had lost a whole school bus of people.

"No," replied Blake. "I may need you in a little bit."

"Great," he said, opening the door to the building. "Can't wait, here we go, arresting a classmate who was part of a kidnapping." Keith raced up the stairs behind him, as Blake came in last. Gaji was the last to enter the building though, closing the door behind him. The three of them marched down the main hallway to the large room at the one end that housed the girls homeroom. Blake took the lead with Gaji, and Keith maintaining an uneasy alliance behind him.

Arriving at the main door, Gaji and Keith waited outside as Blake went in to speak to the proctor to obtain Sarah for questioning. Left to their uneasy silence, the two watched Blake make his way down the main aisle to the proctor. Gaji regarded Keith cautiously, then turning his gaze back towards the events inside. "I didn't know you were working with federal agents."

"You took the words right out of my mind," said Keith, not bothering to regard Gaji at all.

"I guess this answer a few of my questions about why you suddenly left last year," he responded.

"No. It doesn't," said the Ranger shaking his head.

"The school seems to be shrouded in secrets," continued Gaji unabated. Whether he was actually hearing what Keith was saying, or if he cared was unknown.

"Too many," replied Keith, "too many deep ones." Slowly Blake began walking back with Sarah who he almost pulled by the arm. The Ranger, and the Psionic stepped aside as the two doors to the room parted open, and the federal agent and the cultist passed through it. He released her, and put some distance between the two of them, as Gaji and Keith placed their backs against the wall.

"Alright," said Blake, in a tone Keith hadn't heard the agent use before. "You get one chance to tell me where the Senator's daughter is. After that, you're going to end up in a very dark place, with no walls, and no friends."

"What are you talking about?" she asked feigning ignorance to the entire matter.

Keith came forward though, and decided to force her to drop the entire charade. "I saw you on the bus tonight Sarah, when I went to try and save the Senator's daughter." Her eyes went wide with shock, as Keith took several steps towards her. Crossing his arms, he came closer than an arms length to her, and lowered his voice. "You've seen a small dose of what I can do. So here's the chance, you can give us the information, or I will take it from you. I don't care how you got involved with this group of nuts, but here's your chance to walkway."

She looked Keith right in the eyes, and there was a good deal of anger behind her irises, but it softened and was slowly replaced by fear. It didn't Keith's latent psionic abilities to tell she realized that she found herself between a rock, and a concrete slab. She was in over her head, and whoever promised her clarity, and focus when they had brought her into the cult however long ago, never expected, or could predict something like this could come to pass. Her gaze fell away as water began to form around her tear ducts. "Even if I wanted to, they'd probably kill me for trying."

"They won't have the chance," replied Keith sternly. "Not after I'm through with them." Gaji observed Keith from his place against the wall. He had no idea what the Ranger was alluding too, only that he was fairly sure Keith meant every word he was saying. Much like Mady, Gaji had suddenly found himself staring at a very different person than the one he had known before. He wondered what powers his former friend possessed to work with a man like Blake, and to go up against a group of cultists like he had, and walked away. How many more people around him held secrets like this? How deep did this rabbit hole go?

"I can take you to where they're holding her," she announced. "But there are other things there besides Leon, and his followers. More powerful things." Blake looked at her cautiously, but Keith just nodded, already having a pretty good idea to what lay in wait for the four of them.

Armed with a guide, the three men became a group of four, as they left the school in Blake's car. The ride to their destination was less than an hour, but the ride was silent as the four remained deep into their secrets that made them who they were. Each one of them held a piece of the puzzle to what lay in store for them, but none of them, not even Keith had all the pieces. The Ranger might have had the biggest piece, but not the whole piece. Stopping just a block away from where Sarah had indicated, the four of them all piled out of the car. Blake opened his cell phone and began dialing for reinforcements, though he knew he also needed a warrant, and that wasn't be so forth coming with the circumstantial evidence he had extracted from Keith, and Gaji. He was still going to try and make the best of the situation trying to be as safe as possible, but he had a feeling that it was going to be Keith doing most of the work on this one.

Keith looked over at Gaji, as the two of them stared at the rundown house that concealed their target. The night air was lit by the street lamps as cars would randomly passed by. Keith looked over at Gaji, "Blake told me about your abilities."

"Really," returned Gaji. "He didn't bring me up to speed on yours."

"Well hopefully he won't have to," returned the Ranger. "How long have you had yours?"

"I was born with them," said Gaji. "Most of the men in my family seem to have them, and since the beginning of the last century, people in power tend to take advantage of those abilities; which is apparently why I find myself in this situation tonight. What about you?"

"Like I said," responded Keith trying to sound cryptic. "Hopefully you won't have to find out." Blake closed his cell phone in a huff, and came over to the two.

"We're on our own," said Blake.

"What a surprise," responded Gaji.

"Our tax dollars at work," complimented Keith. "What's your plan?"

"We send her in," said Blake pointing to Sarah who was still leaning against the car. "With you Keith. They haven't seen your face, so you can act as a new recruit, and try and move about. You find the girl, you know what to do."

Keith nodded at Blake, and turned to Sarah, "You ready?"

"Why not?" she asked mockingly.

Keith motioned forward, "Lead the way."

Sarah started walking down the street with Keith in close proximity behind her, leaving Blake and Gaji behind. Signaling Sean over the mental communications link, the lens was patched into Blake's frequency so the two groups could communicate with each other. Sarah crossed her arms as they came to the edge of the sidewalk, ready to cross the street. She looked at Keith, and shook her head. "Shouldn't you don your superhero costume, or do whatever it is you do?"

"When the time comes," said Keith. Looking both ways to make sure its clear, he led Sarah across the street, to where they stood in front of the run down house. Dilapidated was a stretch at best, and the only indication it was inhabited was the light that poured through the scratched up, or cracked or missing windows. "What prompted you to join up with these people?"

"Probably the same thing that makes you do whatever it is that you do," she replied cynically. "It's just who we are." As they approached the door, Sarah started to become hesitant, but Keith waited patiently for her. Making up her mind she nodded, and knocked on the door.

A panel opened up, and a pair of eyes peered through, "Password?" asked the harsh voice. Keith rolled his eyes at the total cliché, and waited patiently in the shadows. Sarah leaned closer to the door, and whispered something inaudible, and in the next instant the door opened, and light poured through the opening. Sarah took point and entered the building, with Keith right behind her. The door shut behind them, and they found themselves in the middle of chaos. People, mostly kids roamed about the house spread out across the bottom floor doing whatever they pleased. Keith observed carefully, but it almost seemed like the scene out of the first Teenage Mutant Turtles movie. Sarah led the way into the kitchen, through a sea of people, into the relative sanctity of calmness. There was an older boy, probably in college if he was going to it.

Sarah nodded and him, and asked, "Is Leon around?" The boy regarded her softly with his arms crossed, and looked Keith over cautiously.

"Who's he?" asked the guy.

"He's interested in the talk," said Sarah. "Might be a good resource too, comes from a somewhat wealthy family. I thought I'd introduce him to Leon."

"Word," said the guy nodding, then slowly stroked his face. "Leon's downstairs, but he's got a guest. Might not want to be bugged right now."

"Is that so?" asked Keith. In the next instant there was a high pitched whine, as Keith's right hand suddenly possessed an Enea. The guy looked down, and as a look of overwhelming surprise crossed his face, Keith leveled the gun, and fired it at the boy. An energy bolt struck him dead in the chest, knocking him out, but a dead panic erupted about the house. Keith brought his power lens to his mouth. "Time to come on in Blake." Keith looked over at Sarah, "Where's the door to the basement?" She nodded behind him, and Keith spun around. Pulling at the knob the door opened.

"Subtle isn't in your deck of tricks is it?" she asked, as she followed behind him as they begun to descend the stairs.

"No I missed that day at school," he replied, as they plodded down the stairs, Enea first. The basement was small and well lit, so they could instantly see Leon standing next to Lauren with a gun leveled at her head.

"Drop your weapons or she bites it," announced Leon.

"Feds are going to be swarming into here any minute Leon buddy," Keith told him. "You kill her, a Senator's daughter, and your going straight to the needle. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars."

"I don't think so," said Leon. "I have other ways of getting out of here besides the front door." There was a bright flashed, and suddenly the form of a man stood in the corner of the room donned in white armor. Sarah gave a sudden look of surprised, as did Lauren, but Keith barely batted a lash. He suspected since the bus that Evan might be behind this little ordeal. In front of him though was not Evan, nor was it Reid, but it was most likely Derrick. "Drop it boy."

Keith kept the blaster leveled at Leon, not wanting to let him try and risk a shot at Lauren. Sean whispered the right phrase into the com system through the mental link, and Keith could sense the lens on his wrist glowing red. He had to think fast, develop a plan of attack, and act on it, but lets face it. If you have come this far, read this many pages in this saga, then you already know, this isn't Keith's forte. Shrugging Keith clicked the trigger, and before Leon could react, he fell backwards, stunned. "Get Lauren out of here." He leveled at Derrick, and clicked off another shot, but it missed. "Ranger Form, Energize!" Striking the lens with his gun hand, red energy covered his body, and left him in his ranger armor. Taking up a defensive position, Derrick charged forward, and attacked.

Blake and Gaji stalked into the house amidst the fleeing throngs of teenagers. Holding his gun in the air, he ducked under a swing to his face. Gaji backed up his ally, and smacked the kid in the face with his fist, sending him to the floor. Blake turned to Gaji, and nodded his head, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he said, and then made his way to the kitchen.

Keith launched a spring kick to Derrick's chest sending him back into the wall, and then landing on the foot, spun around, and kicked him in the helmet, sending the white warrior to the ground. Sarah worked frantically to untie Lauren's bonds, and as the last one came undone, the two girls raced up the steps, leaving the two adversaries to their business. Derrick came up with a swing knocking the Red Ranger back several steps, and then Keith managed to get a foot on the bent over Derrick, and shoved him back to the ground.

Sarah, and Lauren raced back upstairs into the arms of the Blake, and Gaji who were startled at their sudden appearance. Blake took the Senator's daughter into his arms, and raced back towards the exit, the house having been cleared out in the wake of the fighting. Looking back at Sarah he exclaimed, "Where's Keith?"

"He's holding off the bad guys," she replied, as they crossed the threshold back into the night. Blake kept moving with Sarah on his toes, knowing well enough to let Keith do his thing. Any interference on his part would mean trouble. Gaji, however, wasn't a subscriber to this practice. His curiosity about Keith's abilities got the best of him, and he rushed back into the kitchen, and slowly edged his way down the stairs to the basement, not quite sure what to expect.

Derrick had stood back up, and rushed forward grabbing Keith about his midsection, and slamming in backwards into a wall like a linebacker. Clasping his hands together, Keith brought them down onto Derrick's back, and at the same time brought one of his knees up, but still the evil Ranger held on. Spooling up his mental energies, Keith released a small burst of energy at the white ranger forcing it back a few feet. The evil ranger responded in kind as he released a blast of energy at the Red Ranger. Keith rolled to the side, and stood at the edge of the stairs as Gaji descended them, his eyes wide with alertness. The evil ranger looked carefully upon Gaji, and Keith followed his vision up the stairs to the intruder. Cursing Gaji's appearance, he looked back at Derrick just as the bad guy charged another round of energy. Keith could sense the weave forming in the evil ranger's mind as he fired it. Leaping into the air, Keith took the bolt head on as it surged about his armor, but it was only the first of two, as Derrick released another, this time arcing straight through the air, and striking the Sri Lakan. Gaji lost the ability to stand, and tumbled down the stairs. There was a high pitched whine, and Derrick turned to see Keith. Two energy bolts flew from the blaster that the Ranger had produced from his side, and struck the white ranger head on. Derrick stumbled backwards, and collapsed to the ground, still on his feet though. The bolts had been charged to a higher setting than the Ranger's usual stun mode, and it took all Derrick's energy to hold his morph. Mindless as he was, he gave into defeat, and zapped himself away.

The Red Ranger's body rose and fell as he took deep breaths. Forcing himself back to his feet, he looked over at his fallen ally, and walked over to him, and slowly picked him. Taking one last look around the decrepit basement, the Ranger began his climb up the stairs. The others waited outside as Keith's form crossed the threshold. Gaji slowly began to come too, and found his footing. Setting him down next to Blake, he gave the mental command to power down, and the armor dissolved from his body, leaving him in his street clothes.

"You ok?" he asked Gaji, despite the looks he was getting from the other two young people.

"Yeah," said Gaji. "Who was that?"

"I'd like to know that myself," said Blake, crossing his arms, and waiting for an answer.

"Someone very bad," responded Keith in his usual cryptic tone. He raised his hand level with the faces of the three people, and swiped it across the three of their faces all at once. The three young people stared off into the distance, almost mindless as their memories began to fade about what happened here, on this night. He wasn't protecting himself though. He was upholding a pact he had made with the devil so long ago. Derrick had seen all of them in that house, which meant that Evan had seen all of them too, and knew who they were. If Keith hadn't cleared their minds of his presence tonight, then they would all be targets later on. As for Lauren, Keith was fairly certain Evan wouldn't make another attempt.

Blake watched them curiously, "What did you do to them?"

"I erased their minds," responded Keith softly. "You should be able to get them home, and they'll come out of the trance forgetting all of this happened, or at least my part in it. You'll be the hero of the day, and what not."

"You think they couldn't handle the truth?" asked Blake looking at the Ranger.

"Maybe," responded Keith, spooling his mental powers. A portal opened behind him, and he half turned to step through. Looking at the three again he said softly, "They probably could of, but it wouldn't have been safe. Not for them." He crossed into the portal which closed behind, returning the night that it had lit to dark. Blake shook his head, and was glad the Ranger hadn't told him anything, maybe it would have been something to file into his reports later. He'd have to be creative just to figure out what to tell his boss, and the Senator when he returned Lauren.

Several days later, and Gaji found himself in his room, holding something in his hand, something belonging to Mady, and grasped it carefully. He closed his eyes, and tried to focus, but the images of another person's life just didn't come to him. He wondered what it meant, had his gift dried up, and left him, or was something else going on. Part of him was glad he no longer had to deal with it, which meant that next time someone came around looking for information it wasn't his problem. Part of him though felt sadness. He had lost something that made him unique, more so than most other humans, and he'd never have that again. At least, not until years later when a certain human-alien hybrid came looking for a sixth ranger.


	4. Shalanari Part 2

"I don't know if I can handle being here anymore

"I don't know if I can handle being here anymore." Mady remained silent. She didn't know what to think anymore. She and Keith had only started talking again recently, but everytime she looked at him, all she could think of was that evening in the library, when he had been someone she didn't know. On top of that Evan's words began to infect her like poison. Was it all just an act, was he just trying to get to her, play mind games with her mind, make her think she was something important. Why would he do that? "I'm leaving at the end of the week. I'm going to just grab my stuff and go."

"Where are you going to go?" she asked softly. This didn't make any sense to her. Why would he suddenly take off if he was planning an invasion. Shouldn't he stay his ground for his alien brethren? Maybe Evan was wrong, maybe Keith was just…..she didn't know. It was all too confusing for her. But at the same time she felt like she was loosing something, and she wasn't sure what it was. Just something important.

"Anywhere," he said. "Just somewhere away from here." He meant her. Her and Evan. Her anger rose. He was just playing a game with her mind, and she wouldn't buy into it. Evan had been right, and this creature was just trying to use her for kicks, well she wouldn't stand for it. She stood up in her chair, and began to walk away. . "Mady, wait!"

He grabbed her arm, and she felt sick to be touched by such a twisted being. "Let go of me Keith," she said, spinning around. She wasn't going to be helpless, or afraid of what he could do to her. She wasn't going to let some creature have his way with her emotions. She was stronger than that, and she knew it. There was this deep anger beginning to rise, and she threw open the doors to the theatre, and left. She marched throw the halls with one intent in mind, she had to fight back, had to stop this thing in his tracks, and there was only one way, one person she knew of that could do that. She had to find Evan. She wouldn't be able to though. Not for several hours at least.

It was almost dinner time when she found him, and approached him quickly, pulling him away from the doors of the dining room, and out the backdoors of the school that led to the theatre. The same place Gaji, Blake, and Keith would stand when they're paths would cross almost a year later. Evan looked at her in shock, "What?" He wasn't surprised though inside. He knew if he prodded her to this, and Keith did something stupid she would find her way to him, and he had a good feeling Keith had to do something stupid before he left.

She looked at him square in the eyes, as she worked up the courage to tell him what she wanted. She didn't know whether it was right or wrong, didn't know if this was the path her life was meant to take, but she knew she was hurting, "I want in. In against him." Her anger walked a fine line between the feeling of revenge a spurned teenage girl feels when someone strikes their emotions, and that of the fear of a woman who was trying to find strength in her actions.

Evan smiled, and took her hand softly, "I'm glad. But you don't have to worry about him anymore. We won't be seeing him around these parts too much." His victory was assured for the time being, and he knew it. He fought back the urge to smile from the thought.

She looked for an answer beneath his eyes, but searched in vain, "What do you mean?" Her anger slowly began to ebb. What had happened to Keith? She had seen him before, earlier. Did Evan know that Keith was leaving?

Evan sighed, and a look of joy spread across his face, "We defeated him this afternoon. He's gone, not coming back."

"Oh," said Mady in a state of shock. She wasn't sure how she felt about this sudden turn of events. He couldn't hurt her anymore, but part of her still remembered him as the Keith she knew, the one she cared about. Confusion set in, but like the piercing beam of light on a cloudy day, Evan offered her a path.

"We'll still need your help to fend off whatever comes next," he said offering her his hand. She looked at it, and slowly, and reluctantly took it, as he led her back into the dining room. Slowly a charge of energy coursed through it, altering Mady and her body, unlocking abilities humans had not been able to evolve on their own. She would be forever different with these abilities, become something greater than most humans, but it came with a price. Slowly, it would infect her towards Evan's cause. She had accepted them from Evan of her own free will, and piece by piece that free will would be corrupted. She was his now, and no matter what happened, he knew that his great nemesis would return. Keith wasn't one to let bygones be bygones. They were just teenagers, and they made mistakes. Keith was a hero archtype, and that meant trouble. For now though, victory was his, and his reign in this place would begin.


	5. Alpha and Beta

Keith was the first Ranger, at least on Earth

Keith was the first Ranger, at least on Earth. Lexa, however was not the second. Before Trius, and Lexa had found Keith, and the battle against the Mobium forces began, there was another situation that required more than one hero. There were others before Matt, and Lexa assumed the mantles of the Blue, and Yellow Rangers, others only Keith knew about, ones he created. Two to be exact.

Talk about being in the right place, at the right time. Keith was in sunny California these days, half wondering about all the hype was about the western state, and half seeing if Sunnydale really existed. Getting by from day to day wasn't complex for Keith, he had everything he needed, he did as pleased, but he did so trying to make a difference, and trying to keep people safe. Part of it, was trying to find himself in a way, figure out whether he was just a ranger, and a prince, or if he was more. But here he was, in Northern California, on a bright sunny day, when he wondered into the middle of a hostage situation.

He had moved through the town as a drifter, and it brought him upon the grounds of a prestigious school, probably for some of the richest kids in the country. It had been gated off, closed to any passerbys, and the security at the main gate had been northing short of what he would expect from the Secret Service on the president's detail. Security though is nothing more than a concept. It is an illusion design to trick us all into a sense of safety and calm. They say locks keep honest people honest, but if a person truly wants beyond a lock, then there is little to stop him from going into it.

Still though, he had almost forgotten about the school as he continued his walk down the road, that was until he heard the shot. It was a single shot, but loud. Loud enough to draw any kind of attention it needed to. Keith had stopped dead in his tracks, and slowly turned around back towards the school. He wondered what it was about schools, and him being a ranger that always spelled trouble. Maybe he just needed to stay out of them. Maybe it was just fate. Maybe the author of his destiny couldn't figure out anything better. Deciding the first option was the best way to proceed, he swore this to be his last as he spooled up his mental energy, and propelled himself into the cool blue sky.

He tore straight into the sky like the bullet that been fired from the gun he heard, and then reaching a good enough height, he dropped straight to the ground like a rock. He knew he was going to land inside the walls of the school he had seen. He figured the roof was too risky, and didn't know what lied upon it. Softening his fall was the trick before he reached the ground. He waited until the last moment, and then pressed with his mind against the ground, slowing, and touching his feet to the soil, and the grass. Crouching as he landed to release some of the impact, he stood erect, and faced forward towards the brick façade of the school building. Looking to the left and the right, he could see the coast was clear, for what it was worth. He considered pulling out his Enea, and being ready on the defensive, but he didn't know what the situation was, and maybe he could pass himself off as a visitor. Maybe if he was really lucky, it was just a science demonstration gone awry. Maybe they had a riflery class.

Walking forward towards the door in front of him, he took a deep breath as he rested his hand on the handle. Reassuring himself, he opened it, and stepped inside. The conditioned air hit him the instant he walked through, as well as the sounds of crying, and whimpering. There were no screams, but his mental abilities told him that something bad had happened, and people were afraid because of it. He sensed fear, an almost overwhelming dose of it, but he still did not know why, only that it had something to do with a gun shot. He was in a hallway, a long and narrow one with classrooms lining it, and at the other end, he thought he saw a library. The building was very modern looking, and reminded him of an office building more than a school. Strolling down the hallway, he tried to avoid looking into the classrooms, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

Jogging towards the other end slowly he tried to land his footfalls as silently as possible. He ignored the classrooms now, just trudging along towards the other end of the hallway almost like tunnel vision had taken a hold of him. All that was in front of him was the end of the hallway and the light from the sun that danced across the walls. He didn't see the desk in the center of the straightaway, nor that it faced the outside with glass doors that revealed anything in front of it. It seemed though that timing was everything for at the moment his foot fell next to the desk, two figures came around the bend at the other end of the hallway carrying what looked to be automatic weapons. Their instincts kicked in almost automatically, and as they turned to fire. Keith became are of them, and at the same time, his mind became aware of the gap in the classrooms to the right of him. As the muzzle flares began to flash, Keith threw himself into the gap, rolling across to the floors until his body collided with the thick glass, and pressed him back into the floor. Scurrying for traction, he pulled himself back up, and pressed his body against the wall, while still sitting on the ground. His excitement produced heavy breathing that racked his body, and caused his chest to rise, and fall, and his heart to race. He was no stranger to the adrenaline though, not at all. Sometimes he needed it.

Counting to five, he let the fear take a hold of him, and then released it, as he summoned his Enea in his right hand. Subtleness was no longer necessary the second those solid rounds had flown down the corridor towards him. They knew he was here now, and shortly they would regret possessing that information. The only thing left to do was to keep them guessing as to what he was capable of, and save the surprise for the finish. His head turned as he started to hear the footfalls of the two men come around the corner, slowly he tightened his grip on his weapon.

Slowly they came around their corner, their training apparent in the manner in which they conducted themselves. Their guns were leveled correctly, and they moved to back up each other. The leader came around first, and then the second popped out around the corner, but much to their surprise the only thing in front of them was the glass doors that led to the sunshine outside. Then the second one made the mistake of looking up towards the ceiling, and found a sight he wasn't expecting. His next sight was that of an energy bolt at point blank range, followed by the sound of another. The two figures dropped to the ground with a dull thud, and again the hallway was silent. Two feet hit the ground as if someone had jumped from somewhere, or some height, and slowly Keith stood up still defensively holding his weapon. He practically tip toed towards the two fallen bodies, and slowly prodded them with his foot, kicking their weapons away. He confirmed that they were indeed in lullaby land, and out cold for the time being. Looking down at their weapons, he considered taking one of the smaller fire arms, but then again, those things only killed. His goal was still only to knock these guys out, however many there were. He wondered to that, as he perched himself at the corner of the wall again, and slowly stuck his head around to peak.

He found nothing though, and nothing coming from where he had already been, so with a bit of reluctance, he forced himself around the corner, and back down towards his original goal. His weapon he kept low, and pointed away from the direction he was going, as he passed more classrooms. He jogged again, keeping his footfalls as silent as possible, and nearly reached the end of the hall when he heard footfalls, and finding no gap with a door in it this time, he realized he was trapped. The only option was the bathrooms, but they had to be locked if these guys had this place this tightly secured. Didn't they? Waiting until the last possible moment to try it, he pushed his way through the door marked "Boys" on it, and slowly shut the door. He wondered if anyone saw the door close as he stood behind the large slab of wood, against the white walls. Suddenly though, he became aware of something else, and knew instantly he wasn't alone in this room. His first instinct was to look under the walls of the stalls for legs, but he saw none, so instead he let his mind take over, until they guided him to the middle stall. Slowly he looked at the door, and slowly pushed it open, expecting the worse, and in a way that's what he found.

There was a loud scream as the stall revealed three kids, two boys and a girl hiding against the frame, but betraying their common position with their acoustics. It would surely bring trouble he knew, and almost a second later his suspicions were confirmed as the door to the lavatory rocked open, and two more thugs with big guns came through the door, pointing it straight at Keith. He had no time to react, and raised his hands, dropping his weapon to the floor. The first guys rushed forward, and struck Keith in the stomach with the end of his weapon, forcing Keith to his knees, as the second pulled the three from their hiding place, as tears ran down their face. The lead one grabbed Keith, and so did a third that just arrived on the scene, and they dragged their four hostages up and out of the lavatory.

They were led in a marching line once Keith regained his composure against the blow, with the three kids in front, then a thug, and Keith, and two guys on either side of him. The kids were probably in middle school. They looked to be about as old as freshman, which probably meant they either were, or were just about to go into high school. The lead boy had darker hair that was frosted, and had an almost Spanish complexion. The guy behind him had curly dark hair, and looked somewhat athletic, while the girl behind them was just a slip of a girl, with long dark hair, and tanned skin. And then there were the thugs, the one escorting the kids was a normal average build, but the two with Keith were obviously bigger then he was. They talked amongst themselves as they moved their four prisoners.

"So I guess you're the guy that brought down these two," said the lead one, as they neared his fallen comrades. "Guess you think you're pretty tough."

"Guess so," replied Keith brazenly.

"Yeah, well you went down pretty easily," said the thug back.

"So did your friends," returned Keith. His brash statements were rewarded with the butt end of their weapons to his stomach again, but this time he held fast against the pain.

"I don't know how you got in," said the lead one. "But as soon as we get the say-so, we're going to punch you're ticket."

"How comforting," returned Keith, as he peered up at the kids. He wondered if that went for all the kids too. They obviously had gotten away somehow as well too, and he wondered at that. But mostly his thoughts fell on the lead one with the Spanish complexion. The kid was starting to look squirrelly, and he was worried the kid was going to try something. Almost echoing his thoughts, the kid tried to make a break for it, as he took off down the hall. The one escorting them told him to stop, but the kid ignored him. Keith knew what was going to happen next, but knew he couldn't do anything to stop them, as the guy leveled his weapon, and fired. In the movies, sometimes they miss at that range to prove a point, but not here, here these trained guys hit their target head on as a bullet ripped through the kids shoulder, and he dropped to the ground like a crumpled bag. The other two kids shouted, and cry, and there was a general frenzy as the sounds of more shots scared the hell out of all the other kids in their classrooms about them. This was real, much real than it had ever gotten at his high school.

They left the fallen kid for a moment, as the two thugs opened an empty glass room, and forced the other two in, and then Keith. Keith turned back to the guys who stood their menacingly, but he was not intimated. A moment later the wounded kid was slid into the room by the thug who had shot him. "Here's your friend."

"He needs medical attention," Keith told him, looking at him sternly.

"Well he's not going to get it," replied the bruiser. "One hostage dead out of how many. Big deal. He might not be the last though, if you catch my drift." He leveled his gun at Keith, and Keith could see the intense emotions burning behind the man's eyes. He got off on firing weapons, and playing the Angel of Death. That made him dangerous in the Ranger's book. But he still had the trump card, and his eyes fell to his jewel. Unfortunately so did the thugs. "Hey, there's a nice little thing to make a few bucks off." The thug reached down, and pulled at the lens around Keith's wrist, and tore it from its place. He admired it in his hand for a moment, and then placed it in his pocket, smiling at his conquered prize. Keith's face read nothing but defiance though as he looked back up at the man. Again though the insurrection was rewarded with a pistol whip across the face. Keith fell to the floor this time though, as the thug retreated from the room laughing, and closed the door behind it, sealing it with the lock.

Keith took a moment, and only a moment to recover from the blow, before he moved to the fallen child that was being surrounded by his two friends. "Give me room." He needed them to move back, as he slowly placed a hand nearly on his chest. He was feeling the boy's pulse by the vibrations his body was giving off, and he could tell that it was a series of pulses that were slowly diminishing in intensity. The boy was dying, and Keith had to get him out of here. His lens was lost though, and while he didn't need it to port, he couldn't leave it behind, nor these kids. He wondered if he could even port with an injured person like this, he didn't know if it would make it worse.

"Can you help him please?" asked the girl next to him, tears falling from her eyes quickly, as she held onto the boy's hand. "Please help him."

"I don't know if I can," admitted Keith. "I think he's dying."

"No, c'mon man," said the other boy perched by the other side of the boy, across from the girl. "Just hang on, I know the police are on their way. You just have to hang in there." Keith looked around the room for something that might stop the bleeding. Finding paper towels sitting on the ledge, he dispatched the boy to grab them. He dashed over and grabbed them, and returned, handing them to the Ranger. Keith broke several sheets away, and then pressed down on the site of the wound.

"I think the bullet is still in there," the ranger announced. He looked down at the wounded boy, as his eyes grew wet with moisture. "Listen, what's your name?"

"Mike," he said softly, as if the act was taxing on his entire system.

"Alright Mike listen," said Keith, taking a deep breath, and than exhaling. "I'm a good guy, and I want to help. If I try to move you, it will only make things worse though. Do you understand?" He nodded up at the Ranger. "I need you to hang in there, until we all get out of here. That's going to be tough, alright? But you need to do this." Standing up the Ranger turned away from the fallen boy, and looked at the door, rubbing his wrist where his lens usually sat. He didn't know how many were on the other side of that door, and how many still were throughout the school. Were the police, and emergency medical personnel waiting beyond the walls? Did they know yet? There were too many uncertainties.

"What's your name?" said a voice to his right. He looked to see the other boy, with the curly dark hair standing there.

"My name is Keith," said the Ranger softly, almost as if he was one of their teachers giving them a lecture on a subject.

"What are you doing here?" asked the boy. "Are you a parent?"

"Its something that just seems to happen sometimes to me," returned the older male. "I just seem to run into these things."

"What are you going to do?" asked the boy.

"I don't know," admitted Keith honestly, as fear crept into his voice. "But I'm going to try and stop them, and get Mike out of here."

"I'm Nick by the way," said the boy, "and she's Brianna." He looked up at the Ranger, and back at the door. "Can you really stop them?"

"If he hadn't taken that thing from me, I already would of," said Keith.

"What was that thing?" asked Nick.

"Something very powerful," said the Ranger.

"What are you like a superhero or something?" asked the boy, confused by the answer he had received. It didn't make any kind of sense in his head. What small thing, could be able to do what the older guy was boasting about?

"Or something," returned Keith. There was the sound of coughing, and they both turned to Mike as his coughs began to rack his body. Keith could feel the life draining from the boy from where he stood, like the tide retreating back towards the water after it had crashed onto the shore. The kid was fading fast, and there was no way that Keith would be fast enough. He rushed back to the boy's side, and suddenly his mind recalled a conversation he once had with Sean.

It was night out, but the room was lit comfortably, only betraying itself to the darkness in part. If this was a different story it would be a good start to one about Christmas. It had the same kind of feel as a family sitting round a fireplace, with a good deal of snow outside the window. There was no snow though, but it was just as cold. Keith sat on an old ratty couch just across from Sean. The television was on blaring some sort of entertainment program that neither of the two partners were watching, but merely provided a background soundtrack. Drinks rested on the coffee table that separated the two of them, but for the most part they looked like juice.

Sean laughed, brushing off a comment, or a joke that Keith had offered up against him, this much was apparent from the smirk that Keith wore on his face. Returning his drink to the coaster that it rested on the table before him, Sean cleared his throat, and began. "Seriously though, I've been thinking about alternative forms of energy that we might use to power the armor in case the grid ever failed."

"The grid has been around for millennia," replied Keith softly. "Nothing can ever change it; it's a layer of energy."

"But it's weaker out here on this arm of the galaxy," offered Sean, as he leaned back into his seat. "Which is why we can only afford enough power for one ranger using the Guardian Armor. What happens if something happens to you? What if we ever needed to create more Rangers?"

"Well, let's hope we don't," said Keith as his eyes dropped to the floor, as Sean reminded him of his own mortality. "I only wanted to help, and somehow this thing has gone beyond my abilities to control. We got lucky with being able to imprison Evan's true self and his abilities, but if something were to happen we might not be so lucky next time. This is my battle; my fault. I don't want to bring anyone else into this; force anyone to walk this path."

"We still have to plan for the scenario," countered Sean, "even if we hope against it."

Keith shook his head, but conceded to his mentor's argument, "What have you been toying with?"

"Well," said Sean, "we know that most forms of Human energy is out of the question, it has to be a different form of energy that can be channeled into a lens or some other similar device."

"Right," said Keith, taking on a more scientific tone. "It would need to be an adaptable energy, something that can change based on the application. Human forms of energy tend to be static. It's mostly just electrical, or potential to kinetic."

"I was thinking the same thing," echoed Sean, the excitement building in his voice. "And then I was watching television the other night, and was reminded of a different kind of energy." Keith didn't offer a reply, merely a shrug as a guess to the situation Sean proposed. "The Matrix."

Keith's eyes seemed to search the area in front of him, when really, they were looking for an answer inside his head, until shocking it hit him. "You want to use humans to power….themselves?"

"No," said Sean, leaning forward, and illustrating his point with his hands. "You told me that Mobiums believe in life energy. You said that all beings have this energy, and that when loved ones pass, their consciousness becomes released as energy, and sometimes even stays with their loved ones."

Keith rolled his eyes, thinking of the visitations of his mother, and could only help but laugh. "Yeah, you're right. I did say that."

"What if we could channel that life energy into Power Lenses, or something similar," continued Sean unabated. "If someone was about to die, we focus their escaping life energy into a container, and use it to channel armor, and powers."

"I don't know," said Keith hesitantly. "I don't know if that's even possible, and even if were dude, like you would need to have some dying to do it. How would that dying person feel too if someone used their energy for bad? If used the wrong way, people might even kill to create Ranger powers, and I wouldn't want that on me, if that were the case."

"Is it possible?" asked Sean, undeterred by the moral implications that Keith raised.

Keith looked at him critically, and then slowly nodded, "That is if you could find a way to focus it, but I'm not sure a Mobium could focus that energy."

"Well like I said," returned Sean, leaning forward to take a hold of his glass again. "It's just a theory." Keith stared at his mentor critically again, not only wondering if Sean was beginning to lose it, but at the same time wondering if there was a way to accomplish his theory. Slowly though he let the thought go, and slowly the two of them drifted towards the images and sound coming from the television set.

Mike's breathing became shallower, and Keith's brief trip down memory lane came to a screeching halt. Looking down at Mike, then to the place where his lens usually rested, he wondered if he really had any other choice, then the one that was so clearly laid out in front of him. He could break out of this room; take his weapon back, and then what? How many more thugs were there with automatic weapons, and no matter how active he was with his powers, it just took one lucky shot he didn't see coming. His armor removed this advantage for his adversary, but again he was without. He needed help, and as much as he didn't like to admit it, he wasn't capable of handling this situation alone.

"Mike," Keith said softly. "I don't think we can get you out of here in time buddy." Tears began to form around Bri's eyes. Nick looked downtrodden as if someone had run over his puppy. "Your fading fast, and they're probably not going to let you leave after you tried to take off."

"I don't want to die," he said softly, as Brianna let loose a loud wail, and turned away from his fallen friend. Nick's eyes began to water as well.

"I know," said Keith softly, "and I wish I could do more to have saved you. I'm supposed to be a hero, and I've failed today, I've failed you. I'm sorry, which isn't a word that's going to make a difference right now, but I wanted you to hear it before its too late. But maybe you can make a difference."

"How?" he asked softly, as his eyes started to dim.

"I'm kind of a Power Ranger," said Keith, as he took a hold of one of Mike's hand. He didn't wait for them to laugh, or roll their eyes, or ask for proof. Slowly things in the room began to raise off the ground all by themselves, and move towards the center of the room. Books, papers, lost pencils, and even a chair or two however around the three of them. Nick, and Bri's face lost their sadness, and became filled with shock as they looked about them, at the mayhem and chaos that Keith was causing with his mental abilities. Mike saw them, but only half aware what was transpiring around him.

His response was given weakly, but showed how out of it he truly was. "That's neat."

"I can't use my powers," Keith told him, "because the guy took the device I used to access them." He felt time was not on his side, and he risked not giving an explanation to Mike, but just to offer him his idea. "When you die, who you are will become energy. That energy will stay with your body for just a moment, then it will vanish into thin air. I can turn that energy into a way to help your friends get out of here, if you let me."

Mike blinked softly, as his friends returned their attention to their dying friend. Brianna slowly wrapped her hand around Mike's free one, as his body began to lose its pulse. He looked briefly at her, and then back at Keith. Keith could sense a connection between the two that he hadn't notice before. They were young, but he wondered how deep their feelings for each other might be, and wondered if they were being enhanced by the event they were now sharing. Mike didn't have the energy to give a response though, and the last of the energy he could use to move, he nodded slowly, and with that last instant his eyes went dark, and the way in which he interacted with this world would no longer be the same. Keith took a pause for but a moment, for it was all he could be allowed if he was going to pull off the plan that was running through his head. It was dangerous, and stupid, morbid, to a degree, and a long shot at best, but it seems that these were the kind of plans that worked best for the ranger.

"Quickly," he told the two younger ones near him. "I need you over there on that side of him, and Nick stay where you are." Brianna moved to the other side of Mike's body, and the two younger people now stood abreast of each other. They had no reall idea what was about to happen, but they were just following orders because that was all they could do, all they could think about at that moment. Keith took up a position by Mike's head, and checking on the other two briefly, he closed his eyes, and began to focus himself inwards. Slowly he began to go to the place in his head where he sensed weaves, and tried to push a little deeper to sense the energy of those around him. He felt it beginning to build until he knew he could feel Brianna's and Nick's energy, and slowly Mike's remaining life energy came into his perception. He leveled his over Mike's body, and patiently waited for several moments. He could feel the life energy began to escape Mike's body, and using a field of mental energy he began to enclose it in a different kind of field. Slowly the life energy became apparent to the other two people in the room as it began to glow orange, and a small orb of it began ot form halfway between Mike's body, and Keith's hands.

The Ranger collected the energy slowly like rainwater, as the orb began to glow brighter with the increasing amount of energy. The hard part was still to come though, for Keith could easily collect the energy, it was transferring it to the two younger people that was tough. Two years later, this same person would hesitate at bringing Rangers into a battle against a stronger opponent, but at this moment he had no such qualms in the matter. In fact, it barely even grazed his mind. He wasn't creating rangers, too Keith it was saving a life, and in turn saving many lives. The energy orb filled with its last ounce of energy, and Keith wondered at the next step. His field wouldn't contain the life energy for long, he knew this, but to send it to these other two was going to be difficult. But suddenly it didn't matter though, a reassuring thought came over him, as if someone was telling him just to send the energy in the direction, and they would take care of the rest. It wasn't a voice telling him to do this, so much as a notion, an idea that just popped into his head. It was comforting, erasing all doubt he had that this might fail, and that Mike's energy would be lost for good. Following the notion though, Keith slowly opened two tiny holes on either side of the field, like a submarine opening the doors to their torpedo tubes, and the energy poured straight through, arcing until it hit the two younger people.

The younger people looked as if they had been struck by lighting as they both closer their eyes almost as if what they were feeling was overwhelming and disrupting their entire nervous system. They practically shook as they arched their backs, and tilted their heads backwards. This went on until the orb of energy was depleted, and they fell backwards onto their backs as the energy link had been severed.

"What the hell was that?" asked Nick, who had been too much in shock by his friend's death and the light show that followed to say anything until now. "What just happened to us?"

"It felt like I was being shocked all over," reported Brianna, as she slowly regained her footing.

"In a way you were," said Keith calmly, scanning both of them with his eyes to check for injuries. "Look about yourselves, and see if you find anything different."

"Like what?" asked Nick.

"Like a jewel, or a pendant, or something," said Keith turning towards him.

"Are you serious?" asked Nick in shock.

"Uh oh," said Brianna, and both boys turned to look at her. She had her hand over the center of her chest, and then slowly pulled the top of her shirt's neck out so she could peer down. "Um….I've got this thing on my chest."

"What do you mean?" asked Keith.

"It's this purple crystal," she replied. "It's like it's a part of me."

"Well let's see it," said Nick.

"What!" cried Brianna. "No! I'm not showing you it's practically by….well its not a place you get to see." Nick laughed as he placed a hand on his chest, and then a strange look crossed his face.

Repeating the same action as Brianna, he peered down, and then slowly pulled his shirt up, and over his head. There on the center of his chest, between his two pectorial muscles rested a strange crystal which literally looked like it was coming out of his skin. It was an amber color, just a shade or two darker than the orb of energy that had been in the room a moment or two again. "I guess I got one too." Slowly he started to pick at it. "It's not coming off."

"It probably won't," said Keith nonchalantly. "It's a part of you."

"Get it off," said Nick, furiously rubbing his chest, to the point of pain.

"Nick," Keith repeated, "its not coming off."

"I'm going to look like a freak," said Nick. "Just get it off."

"I can't," the Ranger told the boy.

"You put it there," he cried, starting to panic.

"Nick!" shouted Brianna. Nick stopped what he was doing and looked over at his classmate. "We have these for a reason. Mike gave them to us."

"Mike's dead," countered Nick coldly. "I don't believe any of this. This is totally unreal. I have to be dreaming. Guys with guns, friends dying, and strange crystals. It's completely a dream. There is no way this could happen."

"It's real," said Keith softly. "It's been real for me ever since I was sixteen. That was four years ago."

"What does it all mean!" exclaimed Nick, his tone emphasizing his frustration. "What are we supposed to do? I don't understand."

"It means we're different? Doesn't it?" asked Brianna.

"It means your life is going to change," said Keith. "It means something you didn't want is falling into your lap. You have powers now, like me. You didn't ask for these powers, I know that. You probably don't want these powers either, I'll understand that, but right now, you're going to have to use them, to help other people. So know one else ends up like Mike." The attention of these new heroes fell to their friend's body that rested on the floor, and the harsh reality of the situation that was ever present in their head, came full front again. Brianna's tears resumed as she saw her fallen friend lying before him, and Nick's frustration melted into dismay, and sadness. "He didn't die in vain."

Nick was shaking his head, "It's like you're telling us we have to go save the day. How do we do that? I don't feel any different. How am I supposed to use these powers?"

"I don't know," the Ranger admitted. "I don't know how they work, mine are different, but I think something inside you will know when the time is right. Call it faith if you will. Remember, these powers come from your friend, and he knew you, and would probably make it so you guys figured this out."

"I don't know if I can do this," announced Brianna.

"Yeah," said Nick agreeing with her. "Me either."

"No one does until they actually do it," said Keith. He wondered if there was more that he could say to bolster their spirits, but he didn't think he had it in him to give them a speech. He barely knew these two kids, or if they were the kind of people that deserved the power. He cursed himself for delivering it so easily, but at the same time he thought back to everything he knew about what he had done, and he had an answer that suited him for the moment. Sometimes, you don't get the power because you deserve it; sometimes you get the power because you need it. A person doesn't always make the Ranger; sometimes being a Ranger makes the person. "We need to get out of here."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Brianna, as she watched Keith walk towards the door.

Outside, two of the thugs stood guard. The one that had taken Keith's lens had reported back to their superiors, leaving these two behind to watch the 'prisoners.' One of them was holding onto Keith's Enea, posing with it as if he had a toy gun. He pointed it at the wall, and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The unit appeared to be dead.

"I think it's just a toy laser or something," he told his comrade, who nodded. "I wonder what he really used on those guys." He turned to face the wall again, leveling the alien blaster, and trying to fire, when suddenly a large rush of air, followed by a heavy object hitting his back diverted his focus elsewhere. He fell into the ground as the force of the blow knocked him off his feet, and a second later there was a splintering of wood, as the former door that had sealed the room off collided with the wall he had been aiming the blaster at. His partner was unconscious on the other side of the hall, sprawled out on his back. He turned to look back at the door's previous hanging spot to find Keith slowly walking through the threshold. Still unable to get his footing, the thug pulled out his side arm, but before he could level it at the Ranger, he was lifted into the air, and then pressed into the wall by an unseen force. He dropped both the Enea, and his side arm to the floor, as Keith slowly walked up to him. Without missing a beat, Keith slowly reached down, and retrieved his Enea. Taking a hold of the grip, the blaster let loose a loud high pitched sound, and slowly the device sprang to life. The thug looked scared out of his mind, and tried to wriggle free, but found his body unable to move as if he was being pressed against the wall. "What are you?"

Keith pressed the barrel into the stomach of the thug, and didn't even offer him an answer as he pulled the trigger. Releasing his mental energy simultaneously caused the thug to slump to the ground, completely knocked out. The Ranger lowered his weapon, and turned towards the two young heroes with no expression on his face only to see them some what agitated by what they had just witnessed, "Where did this all start?"

"The gym," said Brianna softly, "That's where they took all the teachers at least. It's this way." She pointed in the direction Keith had originally wondered towards before he had run into these guys. He took a moment to realize the irony of being on the right path to begin with. "I guess we go this way then. Follow me, and be quiet."

The trio stalked through the hallway, and this time they made it further than Keith had before. They found the halls early quiet this time in fact. The classrooms seemed to be empty, and all the staff, and students were no where to be found, which only seemed to increase Keith suspicions. The trek to the gym was shorter than Keith expected it to be, but they did place it in the middle of the school which must have been convenient for the staff, and students. Peering down the remaining hall, Keith could tell it mirrored what they had just transverse. He felt uncomfortable though, still expecting anyone to pop out at any moment, which didn't serve to ease the tensions the younger ones with him felt. They stood just a short distance from the gym doors though for they had windows that would alert anyone inside to the heroes presence. Signaling for the others to stay where they were for a moment Keith carefully approached the doors, and slowly peered in. The room was packed with people from head to top, and sure enough with a back to the door stood a guard. Keith pulled back for a moment, hoping the guard wouldn't turn around before he was out of sight. Returning back to the others, he let them in on what he had seen. Whispering to them, he told them about the guard. "There's a dude at the door. We're going to have to take him out."

"What were just going to march in there?" whispered Brianna. "Aren't we all going to get shot if we do that?"

"Yeah," said Nick cynically. "Obviously."

"We're not just going to walk in there," returned Keith. "We're going to burst in."

"What about our powers?" asked Nick. "Isn't it time we used them or something?"

"Can you?" asked Keith solemnly. Nick stared at him for a moment with discontent, wondering how he had been dragged into this situation, with this guy. But the older guy was right, he didn't know how to use his powers.

"Hey!" said a voice from behind Keith. The three turned slowly to see that the guard from inside had walked out the door, and found them conspiring. Surprised, Brianna let out a small scream, which caused Nick to jump slightly. Two other thugs rushed out with the first guard and suddenly it had become a fair fight. Cursing under his breath, Keith slowly clenched his fists ready to fight this time.

"Time to find your inner strength," he told them, turning his head slightly.

"You three are coming with us," said the guard from before, a determined look coming over his face.

"Not happening," replied Keith, as he launched forward, slamming his elbow into the lead guy's stomach. The first guy down for a moment, Keith took a swing at one of the other thugs behind him, while the third rushed the younger two. Brianna let out another shriek, while Nick put up his fists in a defensive position. The bigger guy reared back his arm, ready to smash Nick's face in, but Nick ducked as the punch came in, and the older gentlemen's fist connected with drywall. Nick recovered his stance, on the other side of the man, while Brianna, got caught between the door, and the recovering guard. Panicking, as the guard came at her. She kicked him, and landed the blow straight to his groin.

Nick charged forward his guy, and shoved towards the wall. Losing his footing for a moment, the guard fell backwards into the wall, and landed on his butt. Keith slammed his arm into the thug's stomach, and then grabbed the guy buy his shoulder, and threw him into the ground. He turned to the others, "You have to believe in yourselves to access your power." Brianna looked back towards Keith and nodded. Nick didn't hear the Ranger though, as he rushed forward, and landed a kick to his guy's head, which sent the guy down for the count. The three heroes regarded each other, and then turned as the door opened, and this time revealed six more thugs. Letting out a sigh, Keith let his thoughts out, "Ah man." Without looking at Nick, and Bri he added, "If you guys are going to do this, you better do it now."

Brianna wasn't steady on her feet, as she rocked from side to side, but she was still ready for what was next. Her breathing was heavy mostly from physical exertion as well as fear, but still she began to look inside herself, trying to find this new power Keith kept going on, and on about. Closing her eyes, and blocking out everything, a second seemed to turn into an hour, as she dove within herself. She found though that she began to feel a building kind of energy, a strength almost that was erupting from within her, almost like a geyser of energy was being forced up. She felt this energy rush into her vocal cords, and force her eyes open to greet the approaching enemy, and slowly a shout escaped her lips as her mouth began to open. "I call upon the power within!" A bright dark purple energy erupted from her chest as she finished her exclamation, the same kind of energy that erupted from say, a power lens, and it surrounded her body from head to toe. It didn't just fade though, it flashed, and blinded the new enemies on the scene. Nick, and Keith both turned to look to find an all to familiar sight for one of them. Her helmet was almost an indigo color, closer to violet than blue, a color which was there on her arms, and legs. She wore white gloves, and boots that matched. A thick gold, and white ranger shield extend across her shoulder, and ran halfway down her torso. At the center it formed a half circle, and ran back up her shoulders, and was traced with an intricate design. In the center of the shield though there was a the shape of a white crescent moon. Her demeanor changed, almost relax, as she stood valiantly opposed to the six guys in front of her.

"Holy cow!" exclaimed Nick, as he watched his classmate access her new powers. The six enemies recovered their strength, and while they appeared to be a little cautious at this turn of events, they were still ready to do battle. Keith took up a defensive stand next to the new Ranger.

"How bout you Nick?" asked Keith. "You going to get in this game or what?"

"I don't know," replied Nick, still behind the other two Rangers. "How did she do that?" The six enemies charged, despite Nick's search for answers, and Bri, and Keith rushed forward to meet them.

"Crescent Staff," announced Bri and suddenly a staff materialized in her hands. It had a long straight silver staff, ending in a silver orb on the top of it. The three guys that were upon her though, had no time to react as she forced them back, all of them, at once. She thrashed one of them in the stomach with the orbed end, and as she did, a blast of energy was released that sent the guy flying through the air, and down the hall. The other two hesitated before they rushed in though. Nick watched on in awe. He was amazed by what was happening before his very eyes, and wasn't sure exactly if it was real or not. How could this happen? Did he and Bri really have super powers, or was he just sleeping through one of his classes? Deciding though that even if was a dream he still needed to help, he took a deep breath, and closed his eyes in the midst of the battle.

His journey inward though was different. He found only darkness, there was nothing it seemed waiting for him inside. He tried to probe deeper into himself hoping to find the source of this new power like Brianna had, but still nothing came to him. The sounds of battle again began to fill his ears, and he heard as Keith landed blows onto his opponents, and as Brianna's staff connected with the ribs of her enemies, until one of them had snuck up behind her, and landed a hit. She let loose a cry, and suddenly in Nick's darkness there was light, or rather flames. It burst forth from every corner until he couldn't see straight anymore. No force though filled his vocals, instead though he felt this intense warmth surround his body. Opening his eyes, his world appeared differently.

Keith let forth a mental blast that forced his three opponents back. Holding them there with his mind, he heard from behind him a bold statement that brought a smile to his face. "Flare Saber!" Turning, he saw a duplicate to Brianna's armor, only this time it was orange, very orange, like the sun going down at dusk. He wore the same armor except for on the shield was the symbol of the sun. With silver saber outstretched, he charged the three guys Keith was holding with his mind, and they all about bolted the second they laid eyes on the new Ranger. Keith smiled as he watch the new hero chase them, and muttered under his breath, "Lunar, and Solar."

The battle burst through the doors of the gymnasium, much to the frighten end screams of students and faculty alike. The new Rangers forced their dark clad opponents back passed the bleachers with the brandishing of their weapons. Completely caught up in task they totally lost track of any of their surroundings. If they were aware of anyone else besides their enemies they made no notice of it. Their weapons soared through the air, often finding their marks upon the bodies of the their foes, and dropping them, as new ones came in. Keith walked silently behind the two as he bore witness to the path of their fervor. He scanned the room quickly, watching as the panicking crowd erupted the around the battle, and then settled quickly, completely enthralled by what transpired before their eyes. The calmness drew Keith back into his past for a moment, as he reveled on the effect the icon of the Ranger had on the public.

It didn't last for long though as his eyes slowly focused on the two men standing behind the ranks of men that filed in on the two new Rangers. One was the one who had taken his Lens before, while the other appeared older, and was unmasked. He looked distinguished, like a businessman, but his firearm, and similar appearance to the ones under his command gave up his vocation. The two appeared calm though as they watched their forces being torn apart by what they knew could be nothing more than fiction. Almost too calm. He knew where he had seen that face of the lead man before. Blake had shown it to him. This was the same man who had led the group that had taken Mady, the one that had revealed her true nature, and forced him to access the Guardian Armor so long ago. But why here, and why now? And why didn't they recognize him from before?

The sea of battle parted, and Keith strolled through towards the two men, almost like he was crossing a courtyard or a hotel lobby. The two men made no attempt to defend themselves, nor did they appear to feel threaten by Keith's presence. The Ranger came to a stop only a few feet in front of them. Keith's demeanor was hard, but he knew he had to handle this situation tactfully. "You know who I am?"

"Yes," said the lead one softly. "But we didn't think you would be here, now, today."

Keith watched the lead one as he spoke, and thoughtfully considered his comment for a moment before replying, "Timing is everything."

"Indeed," came the acknowledgement from the leader.

"I want my Lens back," Keith demanded.

"I imagine regardless of what choice I make it will be returned to you," replied the leader. "The question is whether or not I think I can hold you off long enough to get out of here."

"You can't," said Keith, barely letting a second of dead air to slip between them.

"We humans still like to try," replied the leader.

"You're making a big mistake," Keith informed him, after several moments of silence passed between them.

"I suppose we will see," said the leader, as he nodded to the man next to him; the man with Keith's lens. The thug responded by leveled his rifle, and firing. Keith was ready though, how couldn't he have been? He was in the air, off the ground, and flipping backwards. Landing on the ground, he pulled his Lens from the man's pocket with a flick of his mind. It shot through the air, and Keith reached out to grab it, as the thug started to fire again. Shouts erupted, and so did a mental barrier which forced all the bullets flying towards the Ranger to impact upon it. Nick, and Brianna regrouped behind the barrier beside Keith, as the Red Ranger slowly reattached his morpher to his wrist.

"Now what?" asked Nick, as the fallen regrouped by their leader on the other side of the barrier.

"Now," said Keith softly, as he activated the grid through the connection of his mind, and lens. His red gem began to glow softly, as the crowd once again settled down, realizing that there was no way out save for the two forces that vied for control beneath them. "I'm going to show you guys how it's done. Ranger Form, ENERGIZE!" Drawing his saber, and igniting it with his mental energy, he took a step forward with his weapon raised it over his head. The other two Rangers brandish their weapons in a similar fashion, and long before the dunes on the beach across the country, amidst an army of droids, three Rangers stood in defiance of their enemy.

Keith being the eldest, and strongest charged first. Flunkies came towards him in defense of their leader, spilling from behind him like the flood gates of a dam. One by one they came forward, and Keith threw them aside with his mind as they rushed at him, his saber lowered by his side, until he stood before their leader, and fiercely slashed downwards at him. The leader stepped back to avoid the slash, but no one came to his aid. They knew better at this point than to rush the Mobium. Instead the others turned their eyes towards the Solar and Lunar Rangers.

"Do you really think you can stop us?" asked the leader towards the Red Ranger as they stood silently, and motionless amidst the chaos of the battle. Men flew backwards as the Lunar Ranger released a blast from her staff. Flames jumped around the wooden floor of the gymnasium as the Solar Ranger's sword drop to the ground. And in the background students and teachers that had been hostages a moment before rushed for the exit.

"I have too," Keith replied solemnly. "Its people like you that make people like me necessary. And now these kids have to walk the same path I did. If I stop you maybe there won't be any more people that have to do that."

"Then I guess our paths are pretty well laid out," replied the general. Keith had detected the same resolve in the man's voice that he had all along. Why was the man so willing to lose? Why go to all this work, only to watch it fall away so easy, unless something else can be obtained by doing it?

"You didn't come here to fail? Why are you here?" asked Keith.

"I'm a solider without an army," explained the general. "My forces have been taken away from me, my rank stripped, and my financial backing depleted. What better way to raise funds?" A troupe of three soldiers were sent into the wall from a blast of the Lunar Staff at point blank range. Slowly their numbers were diminished.

"There's not much honor in ransoming off a bunch of rich kids," stated Keith.

"There is an old saying about desperate times, and the measures needed in them," stated the general, slowly pulling a pistol from its holster. He unloaded the clip, and then tossed the weapon away. "Sometimes we do things we're not proud of. I'm sure you know that better than any other." He rolled up his sleeves slowly, so that his forearms were bared, and then slowly fell into a tight defensive stance. "We're not so different, you and I. We both resort to extremes to do what is necessary."

Keith slowly replaced his saber on his holster on his thigh guard. Taking a defensive stance he mimicked the general. "I'm not going to kill you."

"You may have to by the time this is over," the general announced. He swung his fist towards the Ranger's helmet, while Keith pulled back out of his reach, and slowly the two began to circle each other.

The general took another swing, and as his arm came out it was taken by the Ranger, and he pulled the older man towards him, so that he could come in with his own blow to the man's stomach. Spinning around, the Ranger left his leg out to let the man trip over it, and flip towards the ground. There was a dull thud as the man's back struck the floor, and Keith found himself several paces away. "We seem to be doing a good job of stopping you."

Kipping up the general stood his ground again. Behind him, one of his soldiers took a butt end of a saber to the gut, and collapsed to the ground. The Ranger, embolden by his success came forward again, and took a swing at the general, but he was ready this time, and ducked under it, coming up with a knee to midsection of the Ranger. Even with the armor, the Ranger still felt the blow through it, and the successive blow that came to his back as the general dropped his two locked hands upon it. Finding the floor, visor first, the Ranger rolled away as the general's foot came down, not that it would of made a huge impact with the armor. Using his mind to push him off the ground, he continued to roll, until it turned into an aerial spin, and he found himself on his feet again. The general's face had a good deal of sweat running down it already, and they had only exchanged several blows. He was clearly exerting himself beyond his abilities. "You we're saying?"

The last of the general's men fell to combined effort as the Solar and Lunar Rangers dealt a combined blow with their weapons. They broke apart, and stood at either end of the general, so that the Rangers made a triangle, with the general in the center. Nick raised his helmeted head and cried out, "It's over, surrender."

"Does he really think that will work?" asked the general, his eyes still focused on the Red Ranger before him.

"Don't make this any harder," said Brianna from his other side.

Keith stared through his visor, and HUD into the general's eyes. This wasn't going to be ended with words alone. There was only one form of failure available to the general, and that was total failure, the kind you didn't come back from. Tightening his fists as he stood apart from his opponent, he swore softly so that none of the others could hear him. He could end this entire thing with a slash of his saber, but that wasn't who he was. Evan, who had caused more trouble, and hurt more people than this man walked, wouldn't it be hypocritical to end this man's life for less. Mike had been killed by the troops this man led, and that meant he was responsible for it. Would the others be so content with handing him over to the courts? The general still looked at him expectantly though as the four of them stood motionless in the ruined gymnasium. "Well?"

Keith released the energy that was boiling beneath his fist, and casted his arm out in front of him. His mental energy had spooled beneath that fist, and was now being channeled out of his body, and beneath the general. Slowly a rift opened, and the general lost his footing as gravity disappeared beneath him. His expression changed as he stared at Keith, though the Ranger could only off a less than gratuitous farewell. "Take a hike." The portal swallowed the man, and then blinked out of existence, and from his corner Nick let out a cry of rage. The elder Ranger turned towards the boy, and beneath the visor a look of displeasure spread across his face. He expected this.

"What happened to him?" asked Brianna softly from her corner, her voice depicted confusion, and fear. She didn't know what to make of what had just transpired before her eyes, and the entire day was starting to take its toll on her young mind.

"I sent him away," explained Keith. "He wouldn't of stopped until one of us killed him. I won't do that."

"His guys killed Mike!" exclaimed Nick. "Under his order! Mike's dead because of him, he should have to suffer the same fate."

"We're not killers," explained Keith. "Who was going to take his life? Me? You?"

"Yes," replied Nick without thinking. "If you weren't strong enough to do it, then you should have let me do it."

"Nick what are you saying?" asked Brianna, as her staff fell to the ground, and slowly so did she, as she fell upon her knees.

"You don't know what you're talking about," said Keith calmly.

"I'm sorry the big bad Ranger is too weak to take a life, to do what is right and necessary," said Nick. "I mean what does it matter, Mike wasn't your friend, you can just let the guy go."

"Your too young to understand," said Keith softly. It wasn't something Nick wanted to hear though as he tightened his grip around his Flare Saber. It roared to life, and he charged towards Keith, closing the gap quickly. Without thinking Keith pulled his Psy Saber out, and blocked the slash that Nick was trying to bring down upon his head, not even having time to raise a mental barrier.

"Nick stop!" cried Brianna. There was a flash, and her armor melted away into a purple light as she closed the distance between her and the other two.

As if sensing his life energy was being used for malicious deeds, the provider of the Solar Ranger's powers, stripped his armor, and weapons from him, leaving Nick in front of a still morphed Red Ranger. The younger boy was in tears, as his anger, and loss overwhelmed him. Keith lowered his saber once the resistance from Nick's saber was no more, but stood his ground as the boy swung helplessly at the Ranger's armor. Barely impacting beyond its metallic surface, the Ranger only watched as Nick's fists continued to hit amidst a fury of tears, and cries. Brianna's eyes filled with tears as well as she watched her friend slowly unravel before her reminding her of her own mental wounds and loss.

Keith could only watch as the two in front of him continued to break down, but he too felt loss. It wasn't the same kind of loss as they had, for he had not lost a friend, but rather he felt for the loss they hadn't even become aware of yet. They would no longer be just two kids on the track to life. Their fates had become entwined with his, and maybe that didn't mean anything at the moment, bit he had a feeling that sooner or later it would. He wasn't staring at two kids anymore, he was looking at two different people, two very lost people. Nick halted his futile onslaught against the Ranger and dropped to his knees, too weaken by everything to continue. Neither Brianna, nor Keith offered any kind of solace as heavy footfalls raced towards the gymnasium from outside.

Keith's presence, either morphed or not would only arouse questions, and if the two people before him disappeared, it would only add to the chaos of the situation. Having no choice he opened a portal behind him, something that went unnoticed to Nick. Brianna stared at it sadly, and then at Keith. She couldn't see his eyes, nor his expression, but the message was still communicated. Where he was going, they weren't going to be able to follow. There place was here, one way or the other. Maybe, he would come back when everything had settled down. He turned and stepped through the portal, which sealed behind him. Almost instantaneously the doors to the gym opened, and police officers rushed in to see a room of unconscious mercenaries, and two distraught children. They had never seen anything like it before, and if they had known that it was going to be the first thing that signaled the beginning of the change….well who knows what they would have done.


	6. Shalanari Part 3

Energy danced from her fingertips, and slowly moved over the surface of the wooden surface that served as her desk in her dorm

Energy danced from her fingertips, and slowly moved over the surface of the wooden surface that served as her desk in her dorm room. She stared at it blankly, as any bored teenager would do when they practice something that's meant to occupy their mind but brings no joy. She found herself using her abilities more and more everyday. Keith was back. Back in her life, and back as a threat to everything in her life. There was only one person that could stop him, only one person she knew that could do what was necessary to prevent bad things from happening. Evan. He would stop Keith, and then take on all those who supported Keith and his race. Evan would set everything right, she could feel it.

She was playing a role now. Keith still didn't suspect her, how could he? She just played the sweet innocent girl, and led him on. Just enough to keep him interested, but not enough to let him get too close. She didn't know if she could let him get close without feeling the overwhelming urge to try and kill him herself. They had to keep him strung along, and off balance. As long as he was off balance he couldn't hurt anyone else, and he'd be weaker when the time came. The longer she was closer, the more information they could gather too. He had been the one to play the mind games before, now it was her turn. Her turn to be strong.

They had brought her roommate Anna in on it too. It was hard at first to convince her about the threat Keith posed, but Evan said he would take care it, and next thing Mady knew Anna was part of the team. She seemed like her old self, but there were moments when Anna would give her a knowing look, or something that turned everything completely serious. She was glad that Anna knew, it was someone else she could talk to about everything that happened. Someone she could confide in about how she felt about the situation, and talk to about how hard it was to lead Keith on, and just be around him. She had no idea though that Anna had made an attempt on her life the night before, or that Evan had planned the whole thing. No idea that at the last second, the person she had slowly began to hate with every fiber of her being had saved her life.

He wasn't that boy anymore. The one that chased her around like she was the center of his world. He was just an enemy, a creature that was going to fall as soon as Evan was ready to take him down. He posed as a hero so that everyone would be blinded to his true cause, posing as something as stupid as a Power Ranger. She wondered how deluded he had to be to think that scheme would actually work.

Hadn't he saved that girl the one night in the library though? Hadn't he only ever been kind to her? Hadn't Evan held a girl hostage before her eyes? Keith had called her 'Shalanari' once. He had told her that it was "elvish" for beloved. Didn't he care about her? Didn't Keith love her?

No he didn't. It was all just a game, and she had played right along with him the whole time. 'Shalanari' was probably a derogatory name like bitch in what ever language his people used. He had played her for a fool, and now she was playing right along again, but with an agenda of her own. Soon she would bring him to his fall, and when he fell, she would be standing there smiling. Keith would meet his demise before her very hands, from the very energy that now poured from her finger tips, and traced across the desk towards the wall. Soon he would just be a memory.

But would it be the memory of a fallen enemy, or would it be something different, would it be the way he looked at her, when he called her his beloved in a strange language?


	7. Trance'd

Peter knelt before the crucifix perched high above him

Peter knelt before the crucifix perched high above him. It was a ritual, something he always did before a show. He felt it was almost like good luck, like god would take notice of his art, and enhance it for the enjoyment of all. That's all he wanted from his music, to give others the feeling that he got every time the music pulsed through the speakers of a club. The rush. It flowed throw him like he was apart of it. It was almost addicting, like he needed it just to survive. Maybe that's why he did what he did.

His gaze turned up to look upon his lord, and he caught himself in mid doubt. He had seen many things in his travels with Shen, in his dealings with Keith, that sometimes made him wonder. He never doubted in his lord, or his god, but he wondered sometimes, how much the plan he thought there was had been altered by the emergence of other beings. He was grateful for the chance to be in the presence of such beings, and in a way help shape the world, but maybe sometimes he wondered if he would have been better of never knowing anything. Maybe that's why he did what he did.

Peter stood up, as the sounds of the busy cathedral of St. Paul's in downtown London hit him head on. He became aware of everyone around him again, and closing his eyes, he could almost see the layer of weaves about the cathedral, tracing the actions of everyone, and everything. Turning his eyes away from his lord, his thoughts returned to darker subjects though. Peter had exhausted his funds. He had lived the life of a partier, and a DJ, and as he was known to do, had blown all his money before he had been able to reinvest it into equipment that made his job possible. He had to borrow money to keep going, but what bank would loan money to a man who never stayed in one city for a long time.

Peter had taken it from a different source though, a source he wasn't very proud to have borrowed it from, and someone who was going to collect if they didn't get it back. Peter was late with the money again, late as in, almost a month. They wanted it back, all of it too, but Peter found himself caught in a hard place that he wasn't sure how to get out it. He thought about selling his car, but then again, it wasn't his to sell. It belonged to his father, and he knew his father wasn't prepared to bail him out of this jam. Peter and his father were never on good speaking terms, they had their arguments as father and son do, but this father never agreed with what his son did, so you could say that the car was a lovely parting gift to his son, as he threw him out the door, and out of his life.

Peter treaded softly down the main aisle, and then back to the main door, and through the door into the falling dusk of the winter night. It was cold out as he slowly climbed into his black Porsche. Starting the engine, it roared to life, and the climate control systems in the car began to kick in bringing warmth back into the German DJ's body. Taking off down the street his destination was the club he was playing at tonight, where his sister, and a good friend awaited him.

He parked in front of the club, and got out. It was still early, and he had a sound check to do, so getting into the building was fairly easy, there was no line. Upon entering into the dark room, lit by the lights from blue lights above, his eyes drifted over to a corner booth where his sister sat. Whenever he was in this hemisphere his sister would take time out from her studies at university to come to see him perform. He didn't think she was too much into the music, but it was nice to see family every now and then considering he didn't have a good deal left on speaking terms with him. Elizabeth was a somewhat attractive girl with long blonde hair usually suspended in a ponytail, and dull blue eyes that were almost grey. She looked the part of the scene though wearing a low cut top, and a short skirt. Her companion at the booth brought a quick smile to his face though. Keith was in town, deciding he needed to leave the states for a month or two, and do some good else where in the world. The Ranger meant more than friendship, he usually meant adventure too, and with Peter's current predicament, he meant backup too. Keith and Liz were chatting, and suddenly she smiled, and blushed. Peter's smile faded slightly as he considered what Keith might think about his sister. He wondered for a moment if he should be worried, but then again, he did teach the Ranger everything he knew, and even if he was an alien, Peter would just have to kick his ass if he got any funny ideas. Chuckling to himself, Peter walked over to the booth, and slid in next to his sister.

"Hey," she cried in a slightly stronger German accent than his.

"Hey," he replied softly, then extending his hand to Keith, he greeted him too. "Glad to see you."

"You too," replied Keith, smiling as he shook his teacher's hand. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Almost two years," replied Peter. "You do not write; you do not call."

"What can I say?" replied Keith. "I'm bad with those things; besides, I've been a little busy."

"Is it government work again, or the private sector?" quipped Peter.

"A little bit of both," said Keith with a smile.

"Why are you in Britain?" asked Peter curiously, as he signaled for the waitress.

"Needed to take a break from work, thought I'd see some of the world," replied Keith.

"Well glad to have you here," said Peter, then added as he looked at Elizabeth who had been fairly silent, "I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

"No," said Elizabeth, "we were just talking about California."

"California?" asked Peter perplexed.

"Yeah," said Elizabeth, "remember father sent me there for a week last summer. I went out to San Francisco, and saw the Golden Gate Bridge. Keith just got back from there." The waitress came over, and he ordered a drink for himself, and Elizabeth, and offered for Keith, but he refused.

"So how was California?" he asked Keith.

"It was…" Keith stated, trailing off slightly as he tried to find the answer to the question, "…a learning experience." Peter regarded him curiously, but shook his head not really wanting to know what it meant.

"Well it should be a good show," said Peter. "I've put out a few new tracks in the last couple years, so it should be a little bit different than you remember it."

"Great," said Keith ready to just relax for a change. It wasn't too long ago that he left Brianna, and Nick behind, and now he felt like he needed a more comfortable change of pace.

"How is business?" inquired Peter further intruding into the Ranger's thoughts. "I understand things must be slower now than they were before."

"I keep busy," replied Keith softly.

"That reminds me," asked Elizabeth, "did you hear about the event in that private school upstate while you were there? They said that some para-military group went in, and tried to take everyone hostage."

"No," said Keith his attitude becoming a little more reserved. "I wasn't around for that."

Peter had known the Ranger long enough to know that he was lying, and probably completely in the thick of things as it were. A smile that went unnoticed by his sister crossed his face, and quickly he took a gulp of his drink that had arrived as Elizabeth had been talking. "Well if you'll excuse me. It's time for a sound check." Peter stood up, and quickly moved towards the backstage area. Taking one quick look back at the table he had left, he noticed that his sister, and his friend had picked up their conversation despite his parting. He wondered at the pairing for the moment, and wondered if the Ranger showed any true interest in his sister. Opening the back door to the stage, Peter stepped in.

"So, are you still in school?" asked Elizabeth, taking a small sip from her drink, and then setting it back on the table.

"I just finished high school," announced Keith, starring into her eyes. "I'm going to try and take some time off before I go any further."

"See the world?" asked Elizabeth finishing the thought for him.

"…or seeing a little more of it," he continued. "My work takes me to a whole bunch of different places."

"Your work?" asked Elizabeth, tilting her head to the side. "My brother never mentioned what you do." Her eyes were locked on him, with obvious interest. Keith could feel the emotion coming from her even without his latent telepathic abilities.

Keith realized that making mention about his 'profession' might have been a mistake though. "I guess you could say I'm in private security."

"Wow," she replied, "that's different. I haven't met anyone who worked in private security. Are you like a body guard or something?"

"Or something," said Keith with an added nervous laugh. "What about you? What do you do?"

"I'm a shoppe girl," she announced with a smile.

"Wow," said Keith. "Where at?"

"At a little store in my town," she replied. "My dad owns several of them, so I get to run one of them. When I'm not at university that is."

"Well at least you're your own boss," remarked Keith.

"Yeah," she said, though she knew otherwise. She looked off towards some of the other people moving into the club ready to hear Peter's set. She realized that this wasn't as going as well as she hoped, but then again she didn't know how poor Keith was at talking to women. "So are you seeing anyone?"

Keith was caught off guard by this question, and his eyes went wide to indicate it. He knew what the question meant, especially with the way Elizabeth was sort of pushing herself, but he didn't know how to answer it. "I um….I just got out of something. Something big."

"How long were you with her?" she asked, pushing the subject.

"Hard to say," Keith replied honestly. "It seemed like a lifetime."

"She must have been a lucky girl," replied Elizabeth softly. Keith looked at her coolly, but didn't respond.

Peter continued his odyssey back stage as he continued to look for the stage manager. He had passed the small storage closet that served as the green room, but still there was no sign. He couldn't help but notice that it was unusually quiet for an area that should be quiet busy, and wondered where all the staff was. There was a sound of feet shuffling, and then a loud noise from further down the hall. Peter could sense weaves in his mind, but couldn't see their source. Slowly he moved to where he had felt them come from. His footfalls echoed in the well lit narrow hallway, and it was just as he narrowed the corner that he began to wonder if something was amiss. Turning the corner he ran straight into a very large man of African descent. He was wearing a large black suit, with a black tie, and black shirt underneath. His head had been shaved, and based on his muscle structure, Peter was quite certain of the man's profession. With him were two other gentlemen clad in similar attire, but of European descent instead. The large black man was the only one to speak. "Mr. Archer would like to have a word with you." His voice was deep, and disturbing, almost like Michael Duncan Clark's voice.

Raymond Archer was the man that Peter had been borrowing money from for sometime now. He had been late again, and Archer wasn't a man who tolerated tardiness. Peter knew exactly what this was about. "Can it wait til after the show? If I don't do it, than I won't have any of the money to pay him back."

The large black man seemed unmoved by Peter's story, and remained motionless in both movement, and expression. "Now." Peter was caught between a rock and a hard place. He didn't have the money which means he couldn't pay Archer back, which probably was only going to make Archer mad. He could try and fight his way out of this, but Archer would send more thugs after him, and as long as his sister was in town, she could be a target, and Archer would take retribution out on her. His best course of action would be to go with the man, and accept what ever fate was his, and hopefully that would protect Elizabeth.

Reluctantly Peter nodded, "Alright, lead the way." The large man stepped aside, so that Peter could pass, and as he did, the man came in behind him, so that he was completely surrounded in the back. There was no escaping this now, he was committed to what ever fate awaited him when he got to Archer's place. As they walked down the hall though, towards the back exit, he noticed the Stage Manager lying unconscious near the door. Apparently he had made the mistake of objecting to the trio's presence backstage. Peter only wondered if a similar fate awaited him. The back door opened, and there waiting for them was a dark van. The side door opened, and Peter jumped inside, along with the three guys. Immediately a gun was pointed at him from a man sitting in the passenger seat. He didn't say anything, but he also knew he didn't have too. Peter wasn't going anywhere.

Back in the bar, the conversation had died down between Elizabeth and Keith; as had the lights. Keith had ordered a drink, non-alcoholic of course, and sat in front of him, sweating a little bit from the ice. The two regarded each other nervously, because as previously mention, Keith just wasn't any good talking to women. He watched though, as other people wondered into the club, mostly couples, or groups of people. He watched how they interacted with each other, and how they moved about so naturally. For all that Keith had done, and the different kind of situations he had been in, he realized still that he had never really learned how to be someone his age, at least in a social aspect. True, he could handle most things that came his way, but he never learned how to just be a person. He felt that now most of all with the cute blonde in front of him, and the silence that filled the gap between the two. He felt like he should apologize, but before he got the chance, Elizabeth chimed in.

"Something's wrong," she said softly, her eyes looking towards the stage, and then back at the bar.

"Yeah," said Keith, "its just that I'm not very good talking to people for long periods of time. It's this thing I have."

"What?" she asked, noticing he was talking to her. Waving him off though she added, "No I mean with Peter, he should have been out by now."

"Oh," said Keith softly, and then turned around back to look at the bar behind him. He didn't see Peter, but what he did see was a very battered Stage Manager walking towards the bartender. Focusing intently on their conversation, and ignoring Elizabeth for the moment as she frantically tried to find her brother in the crowd of people, Keith gazed intently as the two men shared words. Clearly something had happened backstage, and since that was where Peter was heading last, Keith slowly got up, and headed over to the bar, "Hang out here for a moment."

Feeling a little more in his element, though it came with possible bad news of a friend Keith slowly made his way through the crowd to the where the Bartender, and the Stage Manager were conversing. Sitting down just inside earshot range, Keith could make out just a little of the conversation. The bartender was much more calm than the Stage Manager, and seemed to be the higher up of the two. His voice was rough though, with a thick British accent, "What do you want me to do? The Lories won't touch Archer."

"You have to do something," said the Stage Manager with more of a Welsh accent. "Besides they walked off with tonight's act."

"Well that's his own fault," replied the bartender. "Everyone knew he owed Archer money, so his boys came by to claim it. Look if he doesn't go on, he doesn't make any money. That's the deal with all the acts. Just get some of the sound equipment set up to play some regular music."

"What about the cover?" asked the manager. Keith stopped paying attention after that, because it was no longer important. He had thankfully caught the important part of the conversation, which was that Peter had been taken away by a group of guys that worked for this Archer character, apparently for debts that needed to be repaid. Elizabeth had come up beside him, seeing that the Ranger had apparently stumbled upon something.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously. "Is it about Peter?"

"Was Peter having financial trouble?" Keith asked her.

"I don't know," said Elizabeth. "He had some expensive habits, but always seemed to get by."

Turning towards her, and away from the two men, he looked at her critically, deciding whether or not to induce a type of panic into her about her brother's whereabouts. However he decided that if he was going to 'help' Peter out, he was probably going to need her help. "It seems that Peter went off to see a man about some money that he owed him."

"What men? Who did he owe money too?" she asked him. She was confused by the information that Keith was giving her. If appeared to Keith that she really didn't know anything about this situation.

"I heard the name Archer tossed out," he told her. "Does is it ring a bell?"

She seemed to turn white for a moment, and then leaning against the bar, she folded her face into her hands. "Only if you mean Raymond Archer."

"So you've heard of him?" asked Keith.

"He is a crime boss in town," said Elizabeth softly. "But I do not know why Peter is mixed up with him." Then a sudden realization seemed to hit her all at once. "Unless that is how Peter has been making all his money to do what he does. He and Father don't see eye to eye, and he wouldn't borrow money from him. I just thought he was getting paid more, but I guess he was borrowing it all along."

"Do you think he can pay Archer back?" asked the Ranger as music began to flood into the house from the large speakers by the stage.

It had already become to loud to answer, so instead Elizabeth just shook her head. She looked towards the speakers with annoyed expression, and then motioned for the Ranger to follow her. She got up from the bar stool, and slowly walked away from him. The human male part of Keith had to watch her go for a few moments as he took in her backside, but shook himself out of it, and quickly caught up with her. They made their way through the crowd, and finally to the exit. "If Archer has Peter, than we're going to have to go to the police to alert them that he has been taken."

"No," said Keith. "The guys in there were arguing about that, they said the Police won't touch Archer. They had emerged from the building onto the dark London street where cars lined both sides of the street. Elizabeth turned away from him, obviously upset that there was little she could do to help her brother. "But we might be able to do something."

She turned to look at him critically, and raised an eyebrow, "What do you suggest?"

"Do you know where we can find Archer?" Keith asked her softly.

Crossing her arms, the critical look continued to remain on her face, "He has a bar in Leicester Square, or so I'm told."

"Well then let's go," Keith replied.

"Fine," she said, interested in what he had up his sleeve. She dug into her purse, and produced a set of keys, "we'll take Peter's car." Pressing the remote that was attached to keychain, the night became illuminated on the opposite side of the street as the blinkers, and side markers on a Black Porsche 911 flashed to indicate that the vehicle was now unlocked. Had Elizabeth not known that the look on the Ranger's face was caused by a car, she might have become slightly jealous.

"Can I drive?" he asked her innocently as they approached the car, his eyes still fixed on the sleek lines of the German vehicle.

"Can you drive a stick shift?" she asked him.

Keith appeared to be wounded right, right below his pride it seemed. The question was one of almost shock value to the would be hero, but instead of passing it off as that, he just smiled, and flicked his wrist. The keys shot from the girl's hands, tore through the hand, and into the air where an open palm of the boy's hand waited eagerly. "I have on occasion."

Elizabeth watched in shock as she saw what she considered to be impossible. The Ranger had done something she had never seen in her life except in motion pictures, and to be even more dramatic he threw in a good dose of wit. Her mouth closed though when she realized that much like the unusual talents her brother had displayed on occasion, that Keith to must have been of the same level to deal with her brother. "I guess I have no choice." She opened the door to the passenger side, as Keith opened the driver's door to the car, and both of them slid in at once. Adjusting the seat was no problem, and finding the ignition was a snap. Keith paused a moment before he turned the key, as his foot perched itself above the clutch. Soaking in the feeling of anticipation, he let it hang before finally, he turned the key, and the engine roared to life. Elizabeth watched entranced as the guy before her was so engrossed by the sound, and feeling of the car.

"I have seen many things in my life," the Ranger offered, "but this is probably one of the most serene."

"My brother is still in trouble," she reminded him, snapping him from his own trance.

"Oh," stuttered Keith, "right." Switching the headlamps on, and putting it into gear, Keith slowly pulled the car out of its parking space. The two of them were off to save her brother, but to any other onlooker it would be nothing else but a standard routine. A well off guy leaving the club with a pretty girl, and a Black Porsche shooting down the London street in the dead of night, its engine growling loudly, and its Xenon beams guiding its path, as it disappears into the darkness.

The large door to the van was opened, and Peter was forced out of it, nearly falling to his knees. Two large men stepped out beside him, and took a hold of his arms, pulling him back to his feet. His hands were now bound tight with cable ties, and they were out in front of him, where the two thugs escorting him could see them. The large black man stepped out of the van last, and then marched forward to open the door to the back entrance to the club. Once open, the two men shoved Peter forward, and entered the building behind their captive. The large black man was the last one to enter, and sealed the door behind them.

The hallway they had walked into was well lit, and the brightness of the bulbs bothered Peter's eyes for a moment. He squinted, and tried to raise his hands up to block the light, but did so in vain, remembering that they had been bound. The group marched forward with Peter in the lead, and when they came to a door, he was told to stop. One of the thugs stepped forward, and opened it. Inside was a dark room, with rows of wooden structures, with bottles resting on them. It took Peter a moment to realize that he was in a wine cellar, as he marched forward. The wooden structures seemed to be mostly for show, because in most places there were more modern devices used to store bottles of liquor and keep them at their normal temperature. His attention though was drawn more to the seat in front of him, that had the stereotypical single lamp hanging over it.

"Take a seat," said the large black man. Peter did as he was told too, and sat down. His bindings were cut, and his hands were free, but just for a moment, as slowly new bindings were attached not just to his hands, keeping his arms behind the chair, but also to his legs to the legs of the chair. He was effectively unable to move, and stuck with this situation he glared up at the large black man who only smiled at him.

"Should I be expecting Mister Archer at any point?" he asked daringly, to which he was rewarded with a punch to the stomach by the large black man. He doubled over as best as he could in his bindings, his head falling forward as the wind rushed out of him, and the pain tried to push him into a fetal position. Slowly though he regained his composure, and then forced his head back up, to stare at the black man. The larger man reared back, and then struck Peter in the face with the full might of his fist, causing Peter's head to swing to the side. He could taste the salty fluid of blood in his mouth as he slowly became aware of more than just the pain. Spitting out the blood from his mouth, which now began to form at the edges of his mouth, he looked back up at the man. "I guess that's a no."

"Actually," came a new voice from the darkness, very thick with a British accent, "the answer is yes." A middle aged man emerged from the shadows dressed in a fine suit. It was a dark blue, with a gold tie tucked neatly underneath. It revealed a large frame that seemed quite strong, but there was a little bit of a gut at the mid section. He was very clean shaven, but his eyes, and a scar on his cheek seemed to indicate a rougher past. His light hair though was still full, and not sporting any kind of grey which softened his harder appearance with a youthful flare. "Tsk tsk, why did it have to come to this."

"Well I was about to have your money, when your brute here pulled me out from a gig," explained Peter.

Archer looked at his employee, and then back at Peter as a small professional grin crossed his face. "Well Jacob seems to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time it seems. Still that doesn't rule out the fact, that you are quite overdue." He spoke softly, and slowly, almost as choosing his words subtly before continuing. "In my line of work…you can't just make exceptions for anyone you know. After all I consider myself a business men who treats…everyone…equally. So the question is what do I do now. The solution though is quite easy to reach because as you can imagine, you are not the first person to…default on a loan shall we say."

"So what your going to hold me ransom until my family pays you?" asked Peter, attempting to guess at what the crime lord was thinking. Archer looked at Peter, and then at Jacob, who launched another punch at Peter which again slammed into the side of his face.

"No," replied Archer, "I tend to think of this as a personal responsibility that you yourself must take on. We won't bring in your family, we will just settle this between ourselves…with blood." Jacob had delved into one of his pockets, and had retrieved something. At the mention of blood, Peter heard the quick rush of something moving, and looked to Jacob who now held a switchblade in his hand. "You see it's the twenty first century, and we can track the financial records of our clients to see if they have the ability to repay us, and what not, and looking into yours seems to reveal, you don't have that capacity, nor have you had it for some time. If you can't pay, what good are you to us?" He stared at Peter for several moments trying to gauge the man's reactions, but Peter, only glared back at him. Finally, bored with his little game, he looked and nodded at Jacob.

Outside the club, on the small streets surrounding Leicester Square, the loud roar of a German engine echoed from the dense crowding of building walls as the Black Porsche rolled up, and came to a stop in a designated Parking area. The engine hummed for several seconds before it went silent, and the lights dim. The doors opened, and Keith and Elizabeth stepped out from their respective seats, and took in their surrounding area. Keith looked over at Elizabeth, and asked, "Which way?"

"This way," she replied, shutting the door, and heading off in a direction. Keith closed the door, and locked the car, and chased after at a steady jog until he came up beside her. She regarded him coolly, and then looked back at the way she was coming. "So what ideas do you have for when we get there?"

"Oh," said Keith non chantly, "I'm sure I'll think of something." The two of them proceeded down one of the closed off side streets to the square which was only for pedestrians. The square was still quite full of people, even for this time of night, which seemed to shock Keith a little. "I hadn't realized there would be this many people about."  
"We're almost there," she replied, not hearing him, only focused on getting to her brother as quickly as possible. She stopped, and Keith came up beside her, following her gaze to the front of a bar which was decorated in neons, and other forms of eye catching material. It came complete with a bouncer, and a line waiting out front. "That's it right there. It's said that Archer conducts business in the basement. There's a stairway at the very entrance behind the door, but its often roped off, entry is invitational only."

"Alright," said Keith, taking the lead, "follow me."

"Wait," she said, putting an arm out to stop him, "perhaps you should let me take the lead. Something tells me you haven't tried to get into a lot of clubs in your life." Keith frowned at her words, but allowed her the lead in any case, and again wasting no time, she began her march forward towards the club.

"She's trouble," muttered Keith under his breath as he followed after her. The two of them arrived in front of the club, and Keith tried his best to blend in as much as possible. The line wasn't that long, either because most of the people who wanted to get in did, or because those that couldn't didn't want to try. The line moved slowly though even for its size, and each moment wasted awaiting entry to club only seemed to provoke Elizabeth's frustration. Finally though the line moved forward, but was roped off, just before Keith and Elizabeth could get in.

"Haven't seen you around here before," said the bouncer, as he looked over both Elizabeth, and Keith. "You might as well try your luck somewhere else tonight." Keith could sense the boiling anger inside of Elizabeth, and was ready to take out the bouncer before she could say or do anything, but suddenly this overwhelming calm began to emanate from Elizabeth, and she flashed a smile at the bouncer.

"Well my friends keep talking about this place, and I just had to come check it out," she told him. "I'm sure though that when Raymond asks though, I can tell him that you guys were all full, and I couldn't go in." The bouncer folded his hands together, and stood erect, and looked over Elizabeth critically. For her part though, Elizabeth stood there like any young girl trying to gain entry into a club, albeit a little more confident than others. A coy smile though rested on her lips, and she knew that the bouncer was rolling over the idea in his head.

"You're a friend of Mister Archer?" he asked, bringing his hands up and folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh that's so formal," she said in response. "Raymond just said to come by and see him tonight, and I thought I'd take him up on it."

The bouncer let out a deep sigh, and then shook his head, "You do look like his type." Slowly his hand dropped to the rope, and pulled the securing mechanism loose, pulling the rope free, and allowing the two entry. Elizabeth smiled politely to the man, and Keith pressed forward, just shrugging at the larger man, as the two entered the rather loud, and smoky club.

A staircase leading to the lower levels was right in front of them, and as Keith stood upon the top step looking down, he could see that the staircase ended in a doorway. Elizabeth placed her hands on him, and leaned closely so that he could her, "He's probably being held in the basement somewhere."

Keith turned back towards her with a serious look upon his face, and nodded slightly. "This time, follow my lead."

"Hey, my way worked," she replied to him, as Keith broke from her contact, and slowly began to descend the stairs to the doorway. Waiting for Elizabeth to join him, and then turned to face the doorway. Closing his eyes, he tried to sense anything beyond the door so that he might know what he was getting himself into. The loud music though made it difficult for him to concentrate on the room beyond though, and he frowned with the failure of his results.

"Ready?" said Keith, turning to look at his female companion. For a moment he detected uncertainty in her mind, but she shrugged it off quickly, and nodded. Slowly Keith reached out and took a hold of the knob, and twisted it, pressing his weight against the door, and opening it inwards. As the door slowly opened he could see that it led to a small room with another door, and sitting on either side of it were two men, one of them reading a paper. He pressed in though, and as they took notice of him, they stood up. He moved to the center of the room with Elizabeth in tow, and as he did the door closed behind him, he found that there were four other gentlemen in the room as well, all standing in a circle around the two rescuers. Spinning in a complete circle Keith takes complete notice of them, and he wonders why they haven't moved on them let.

"Uh," said Elizabeth, "we're a little lost. We were kind of looking for the toilets."

The gentlemen said nothing in response, as Elizabeth laughed nervously behind Keith. Slowly Keith focused on the weaves around him, and could sense the calmness that the men were emitting, but knew that they were building energy with in them. It was very much a restless energy that was building. Keith spoke softly so that Elizabeth could hear him, "No matter what happens, don't move.

He waited, for what was going to happen next, and when it did it broke like a levee against the full force of the water behind him. One giant release of a weave, everything coming out at once. They moved towards them, all of them rushing forward at once no brandishing any weapons, just an attempt to subdue them without any major show of force beside muscle, and as they came towards the two, Keith spooled all his mental energy up. He waited until the last moment to release a blast of mental energy in the form of an orb, and doing so he forced all of them back in the direction they came from. The sound of dull thuds echoed throughout the room as their bodies slammed into the thick walls, and collapsed against the ground. Some were pushed into unconsciousness immediately, but seemed to have a groggy look on their face. Keith wasted no time at all, and immediately through a blast of mental energy at the door in front of him, forcing it ajar, and open. The sound of the door rocking off its hinges though made it sound like a bomb went off.

"How…?" she tried to ask, but Keith cut her off.

"No time," he replied, grabbing her by the hand, "let's go!"

Jacob's fist slammed into Peter's midsection again, and in vain, Peter attempted to double over in pain, but only managing to let his head hang in front of him as a sign of exhaustion. Another fist went across his face, and wretched his neck to one side. The blows were paced accordingly, to make the pain last as long as possible, so that Peter wouldn't pass out before Jacob could enjoy himself. For the first time since he had started his training with Shen, Peter cursed the stamina he had that often proved useful in a fight. It was the only thing keeping him awake, instead of unconscious, a place he desperately desired to be, but seemed still to elude his grasp.

Hanging his head in pain, he had given up trying to focus his vision on anything, it was all just a blur to him, nor could he hear anything except for a constant ringing within his own head, possibly the telltale sign of blood, but he could tell, barely, that something was a miss when the next blow didn't come. He had considered for a moment, that perhaps he had finally passed out, but instead, he wasn't so lucky, for there was still the sign of the constant ring. Slowly he lifted his head, and squinted his eyes, trying to focus on the figures in front of him, but he couldn't make any of them out. Instead he saw the forms of the two guards that had been beside him, moving out of the room, and in front of him, presently was but Jacob. Archer was no where in his blurry range of sight. Feeling that this was to his advantage, Peter let out a slight laugh, a smile spread across his mouth as he did, but he could feel Jacob turning his gaze back upon him, and slowly he knew what was to come next. Peter could still sense weaves.

Jacob reared back ready to strike Peter, but Peter wasn't going to let his beating proceed any further. Summoning up the last of his strength, he pushed with all the muscles in his calves so that he stood up, and as quickly as possible, swung his body and the chair completely around at Jacob. He was faster than Jacob though who had already been caught up in his rhythm to notice Peter's attack. The chair slammed into Jacob full on, and splintered into many different pieces, leaving Peter smarting from the attack, his bounds in disarray about his body. Jacob had fallen to the side, and was slowly recovering, but it looked to Peter as if his attack had done some damage, at least from what he could make out from the weaves. He tried to take a defensive position, but found that his bindings still made that difficult, and matters were further complicated when Archer produced a firearm.

Peter could only sense the weave of brandishing a weapon, but it was the click of the hammer being drawn back that took Peter's attention, and slowly he loosened up, realizing that he was no much for the weapon. It was at that moment though that a dull thud struck the door leading out to the room. All of the men turned towards the source of the noise, and sat for several moments in complete silence, listening for what could have been the origin of the disturbance. They did not have to wait long though. The door opened, seemingly of its own accord, and there in the doorway stood Keith, with one of Archer's thugs lying in the background. Archer reacted instantly and pointed his weapon at Keith, but Keith was seemingly ready, and sent a burst of mental energy at Archer's hand, knocking the weapon out of it. Peter reared back, and struck Archer across his cheek, not missing an opportunity to return the hospitality he had been shown prior.

Archer caught the blow unaware, and fell to the ground, as his ruffian, Jacob, charged Peter. The linebacker of a man, slammed full on into Peter, and the two tumbled to the floor, as Archer slowly regained his composure, delving his hands into his pockets. Keith entered the room swiftly, as Archer removed his hands from their coverings, and with them he produced a shiny pair of metal on either hand, both covering the knuckles. Archer charged forward with a swing to Keith's frame, and Keith swiftly dodged, and then again, as the crime nlord continued his attack. Finally, the Ranger erected a mental field in front of him, and waited for the blow he knew was coming. The crime lord slammed his fist dead into the center of the field, and the weapons he had brandished had turned against their master, causing him pain. Keith turned this field outwards, and pushed it away, and it not only slammed into Archer, but took him with it as it traveled across the room, and into the wall.

Jacob was the first to rise from the tackle, and proceeded to strike Peter across the face. He excepted his attack to come from blow, so he never heard the sound of heeled footsteps approaching, nor could he have anticipated the blow from the feminine foot that struck him dead in the face, as Elizabeth came to her brother's rescue. Peter had been pushed to the brink of exhaustion by his blows, but he rolled over, and on top of Jacob as he struck the floor beside him. Pulling him up by the collar, and struck the man dead in the face with a blow from his fist, and Jacob's head slammed into the cement floor, the resulting trauma, knocking the larger man out. Peter released his grasp on the man, and found himself surrounded in the arms of his sister's embrace, as she slowly pulled him from the floor. He found her strength a necessity for standing it seemed, and looked over towards his other rescuer who had pinned his captor against the wall.

Keith stood there, with his arms crossing, watching as Archer struggled to be free of the mental field holding him in place. His useless wriggling, almost seemed to amuse the Ranger to some extent, but as Peter joined him with his sister Elizabeth, he took a more serious tone, "What do you want to do with him?"

"Can you portal him to jail?" asked Peter half heartedly. His exhaustion was beginning to be felt, and he seemed short of breath.

"Maybe," said Keith, "but they'll just release him, since he hasn't been charged with a crime.

"Maybe somewhere just far away would do," said Peter, as he rested his head upon his sister's shoulder.

"He may come back for you," returned Keith. "What then?"

"I don't know," replied Peter truthfully, "what do you suggest?"

Keith released his hold on the man, and slowly Archer's body slid down the wall until his butt met the ground. He sat folded up, and unable to move as each breath was a struggle to remain alive. Keith looked at him curiously for a moment, before turning to answer his friend, "I think you should get out of London." A portal rift opened behind Peter, and slowly the energy began to swirl, and crackle inwards. Peter regarded it coolly for a moment, and then turned back to the Ranger. Keith looked at Elizabeth, and she seemed to appear as confused as Archer had but a moment ago. He couldn't tell her what was happening, that task would be left for Peter, the only thing he could do is tell Peter to take her with him, "Her too."

Peter looked down at the crime lord, and then back towards his sister. "I understand." He grabbed a hold of Elizabeth, and before she could object, or fight back, Peter was already in the portal, and her arm was halfway in. She looked back at Keith with a look of concern, but Keith only stared back at her with tired eyes. The two of them emerged on the other side of the portal in what looked to be another part of the city, not far from an underground station.

"What the hell was all of that about?" Elizabeth asked, practically screaming at her older brother. "Who is he, and how can he do that stuff?"

"That's a long story," said Peter starring at the ground solemnly, "but he'll get away on his own, don't worry about him."

"What's he going to do with Archer?" she asked.

"Nothing," said Peter, "that's why he sent us away."

"I don't understand," she replied. "He could just get rid of him, Archer is a monster, why doesn't he?"

"Because Archer is a human," replied Peter. "Keith doesn't take human lives…unless he has too. If he had banished him somewhere else, he would make more trouble for us later. As it is, he'll probably just cut his losses and move on."

"How can he do those things?" she asked her brother. "What is Keith?"

Peter's eyes had fallen upon the dome of St. Paul's where he had been earlier in the day. He could see it off in the distance, the lights below it illuminating it for all to see. He remembered the peace that being inside the church brought him, the simplicity that seemed to be woven throughout the world, just by staring at an object like the cross, and believing. The world beyond those walls were not as simple though, and this had been one of the more complex things he had to deal with. His sister had a right to know though, especially after everything she had just gone through. Pulling his eyes away from the dome, he turned to face her, and nodded towards her, as he started making his way towards the Underground entrance. "It all started in Pittsburgh…"


	8. Shalanari Part 4

Mady awoke with a start

Mady awoke with a start. She sat straight up in bed, her breathing heavy as she tried to recall the dream that had just ravaged her mind. She could barely remember though, only that she was different in the dream, not the person she was now. She was dark in that dream, and she had done something wrong; something she believed she'd never do. And for a brief instant in the dream she felt powerful, and at the same time terrible. The fear was what forced her to consciousness.

She looked around her college dorm room, and her eyes fell upon the books in her chair that were the study texts for the classes she was in this semester. Each of them looked too big for their own good. Slowly she pulled the covers away from her legs, and moved about the darkened room. The fear began to ebb, and she tried to think of other things to push the fear away. Pushing a strand of hair back with her hand, she moved towards her vanity to close one of the notebooks that rested on it. She needed to move around, and forget the memory of the dream, a dream where she had turned on someone she had never met, and tried to kill him. It was almost strange in away, that she knew the person in the dream, felt close to him. She could almost recall his name, and the way that he looked at her that made her feel special. But it was so unreal, and the situation they were in was impossible. It was like a movie, or some childish story someone sat somewhere in a dark room writing. It simply didn't happen in the real world.

She turned to look into the mirror, and caught her darkened reflections starring back at her. Something was different though, and she couldn't put her finger on it. Then she noticed it, the mirror was cracked slightly. When had this happened? Had her roommate done it when she wasn't around? Slowly she ran her finger over the crack, but was confused when she found the surface smooth. She looked again and the mirror wasn't cracked at all. Her mind had been playing tricks on her. Was she losing it?

Wondering if she should return to bed though, and fall back a sleep, she was suddenly hit with a rush of pain, and her head suddenly felt like it was about to split into two. She placed both of her hands on the vanity to brace herself, and then turned towards her reflection when she froze, and stopped everything she was doing. Sitting behind her on the bed was…her. Another her at least. Another Mady starring back at her. She turned towards her bed though, and found no one. Concerned she might be developing a tumor she turned to look in the mirror, and sure enough she saw her other self being reflected back. There was something different about the other her though. Maybe there was more confidence in the way she gazed back, maybe there wasn't something almost dark.

"Don't look so nervous," said her other reflection, a playful grin coming over her face, "You're not losing it."

"That's easy for you to say," she replied. Now her reflection was talking to her too. She wondered if she was still dreaming. First she had seen herself as someone else, and now she was talking to that person. It all seemed too strange.

"I'm you," said her other reflection, "just a different part of you. I've been locked inside you for over a year."

"What do you mean locked?" she asked her reflection.

"There is a lot you don't know about yourself," said the reflection, standing up, and coming in behind her. It stood close to her, and leaned in so that their faces were close together, "a lot that has been taken from you. Memories of people, and places that you knew before are now gone."

"How?" she asked it. How could memories be taken from someone? Had she forgotten them, or did she have amnesia or something like that. "Like what?"

"Not how," returned her reflection, "but who. Who you are now, and who I used to be are two very different people. But don't worry about that now, when you wake up in the morning everything is going to be alright."

"What do you mean?" she asked her reflection. "Are you going to do something?"

"Don't worry about this problem," said her reflection. "Just go to sleep, and when you wake, you won't even remember any of this."

"I do feel kind of sleepy," she returned. Slowly she turned away from the vanity almost as if commanded by some unforeseen force, and returned to her bed, falling asleep instantly as her head made contact with the pillow.

Morning came, and slowly she began to stir as light poured into the room. She awoke reluctantly, stretching as she still lay beneath the covers. Sitting up, she slowly opened her eyes, and wiped away a stray strand of wavy blond hair. Colleen eyed the stack of books sitting in the corner, the same she had seen last night when she looked different, when she was someone else completely. She still thought to herself though that the books were too thick for their own good. Somewhere inside her though, part of her, part of her that was forgotten, the part of her that had retained her old form waited. It waited for the right chance to become…more.


	9. How to Save a Life

"Will you make your life matter

"Will you make your life matter?" he asked, as Matt stood three feet in front of him. Worried was the best look that could be described, a look spread across Matt's face in an almost lethal dose. Tears had form at the edges of Matt's face. Sam stood apart from Matt motionless except for his raised hand, and in that hand was a metallic object. "Can your life be better than is it now? Will you give it purpose?"

"Put it down Sam," said Matt anxiously. The room was dark except from a single lamp. It was night out, and all the blinds were closed in the sparsely furnished apartment. "You don't have to do this."

"I lacked purpose, I lacked hope," said Sam softly. "I could of made better choices, taken better paths, but it just didn't turn out that way did it. Now here we are."

"We all care Sam," said Matt, almost ignoring the comments his beligierant friend was making in face of this mounting crisis. "I can help, we all can, but you have to put the gun down."

"The only help you can give is to yourself," replied Sam. "You think you can help me? You haven't even helped yourself first Matt."

"Put it down," said Matt, his voice continuing to be charged with emotion, and distress. "Just think about what you're doing."

"You don't think I haven't," said Sam, his own voice beginning to shake and crack under the pressure. "This has been the only thing on my mind for weeks. It consumed me, burned into every space inside my mind, and brought me to this precipice we now found ourselves standing over. It drove me nearly crazy. There were tears, just so many tears in the darkness, where no one could hear you cry. My life is worthless."

"Your life means everything to your friends," returned Matt, "and I'm one of them. I don't want to see you do this, not now, and not ever. Did you even think what its going to be like for the rest of us if you do this?"

"It doesn't matter," said Sam. "Your life will go on, as if nothing ever changed. Each day you walk through will be the same before, and it'll just have one less person in it than it did. Friendship doesn't matter, its all about whether you can take the small footsteps that take you through each day."

"Goddamnit man," said Matt. "You don't want to do this."

"It's the only thing left that I do want," replied Sam softly. "It's the only path left for me, the only thing left I can do. I put an end to it all, and then I don't have to worry about it anymore. Its too much, I can't handle it anymore."

"Its hard Sam," replied Matt. "It's hard for all of us, but you can't focus on the hard part. There's more to life, more to the experience, and you still have so much time left to experience all of it. Don't throw it all away. Please."

"I've seen how far the experience will take you," said Sam in a voice that was almost blank, as his face took on a similar look. "I'd rather not see how the story ends, but make my own ending. Some people in this world don't get the life your talking about Matt, some of us face a different path, a different choice. This is my choice, my story's end."

"Don't do it," repeated Matt nervously. Trying to find the words to say to ease his friend's pain, he drew a blank in the heat of the moment, and the only thing he could offer was, "I'll stop you."

"You're not a hero," replied Sam softly, a smile of amusement crossing his face at the image of his friend trying to intervene. "Maybe one day you will be Matt, but at this moment, the only thing you can try and do me is talk me down, and its too late for that." He pulled the hammer back on the revolver, and slowly the bullet chamber rotated into place, the bullet ready to fire. The cool metal surface was still placed against the head of a man whose body temperature was slowly rising in anticipation of a life altering event. Outside the sound of sirens began to echo as patrol cars raced towards the apartment building, and the sound of car doors slamming echoed up through the open window.

"You're my friend," said Matt, "I can't let you go without a fight."

"You're fight is somewhere else," replied Sam. "You're fight has not yet begun."

Matt stared at him stunned. Where these the ramblings of a crazy man, or the prophetic visions of a man who was seeing clearer than he ever had before? The two could hear the race of footsteps inside the building as officers tried frantically to make it before it was too late.

"Do me a favor Matt," said Sam, tightening his grip on the revolver. "Two favors actually. One, just live your life. Live it as if this never happened, and I was never here. Go on, and forget me as if it never mattered, as if you never knew me. And two, tell my mom that I loved her."

"Sam…please," said Matt, but as he spoke those words Sam pulled back the trigger, and there was a loud bang, and Sam's body collapsed to the ground in a heap. "NO!" Matt's exclamation fell on deaf ears though as Sam's life force slowly leaked from the hole in his head. His eyes remained opened though as if they were staring off into some greater distance. He had a look of content on his face, as if he had one last good memory before he had no more thoughts at all. Whether Matt noticed any of this as he leaned over his friend's body, small streams of tears slowly flowing down his cheeks, is unknown. As the officers and paramedics rushed in around him, he obliviously held onto his friend, until he was pulled off him by the professionals trying to work. He propped himself up against a wall as he cried, watching Sam's lifeless body lay motionless on the floor.

He slowly ascended the stairs to the attic, his room. His footfalls were shallow, and lacked life. He had no more emotion to give tonight, or so he thought as the only glow of light in his room came from the computer monitor on his desk. He tossed his keys on the desk next to keyboard cursing softly to himself, and placed his cell next to the mouse. Sitting down on the bed, he rubbed his neck idly trying to rub life back into his body. His nerves shocked into action though as his phone suddenly burst into life. He stared at it for several moments, before picking it up. Not recognizing the number, he decided to take a risk and answer it.

"Hello?" was his soft answer into the microphone end of the phone. He heard a soft sigh on the other end of the phone, followed by a familiar voice.

"I'm going to talk fast, are you alone?"

"Yeah," Matt said, unnerved by the urgency in his friend's voice, "but what's going…"

"I'll answer your questions soon, but you need to stand away from the center of your room, I'm going to open a portal, and I need you to go through it."

"Well listen…" Matt interjected, trying to tell Keith to slow down. He wanted to Keith what had happened, what he had seen tonight, what it had meant to him, but things were all coming together too fast, and Keith's tone was too pressing.

"I need you to do this now." These were Keith's final words as the line went dead. Matt looked down at his phone, and placed it back on his desk. He looked back at his computer, and his eyes slowly went around the room. He knew that Keith was deep into something, and knew that if he was asking for help, then he was about to get wrapped up into something. He had a feeling this might be the last time he saw this room for a little while.

Slowly the portal opened in front of him, and Matt stared at the dark blue glow in front of him, thinking about what Sam had said about being a hero. Was Keith a hero, or just a side in a conflict? Maybe Matt's time was coming, and maybe it was now. Was this what Sam had been talking about? He dwelled on these thoughts a moment longer before finally he stepped into the portal, vanishing from the life he knew, his room lying motionless in his wake.


	10. Chain

"Aww crap," announced Keith, as he fired three shots from his Enea down the alleyway

"Aww crap," announced Keith, as he fired three shots from his Enea down the alleyway. Crouching quickly behind the dumpster, he looked across the alleyway at Lexa, morphed in her Ranger armor. Her knucklers were charged, and at their tips was a simmering glow of energy. Bolts of energy rushed down the energy as the droids fired from further up. There was a whole squad of them slowly advancing towards us. He looked behind him to see three people huddling softly, trying to stay out of blaster fire. "Where's Black, and Blue?"

"Ascending the structure at last report," returned Lexa, as she snaked her knucklers around the side, and fired two blasts. Pulling her hands back in quickly to avoid a blast we could hear the audiable footsteps of the droids as they approached quickly.

"They're sure taking their sweet time," Keith announced as he turned back to the three behind him. A young girl, and two guys. They weren't much different than Lexa, Matt, and Keith when they started off. We're the heck was Matt anyway. Turning back around Keith was lucky enough to catch the glimpse of a droid not four feet away from him. That was until it was forced backwards and inactive from a shot from above. Turning his head upwards he saw Matt standing on the rooftop with a small trail of smoke rising from the barrel of his blaster. Turning his gaze across to the other roof he could see Peter blasting several bolts towards the droids below. The droids saw them as well though, and begun opening fire on the other two rangers. "Everyone fall back to the warehouse." Motioning to the three behind him, Keith waved them backwards towards the end of the alley.

Standing up, Keith stepped into the alley and started firing at the droids, placing two hands on the Enea. Matt, and Peter leapt from the buildings below, landing on the dumpster lids, and then flipping off onto the ground. Spinning around, they opened fire; Matt with his blazer, and Peter with his lance. Lexa crept out from her hiding spot, and started firing at the droids from a crouched position. Slowly the Rangers fell back towards the end of the alley, and a large steel door that one of the guys was keeping open for them. Matt retreated in first, followed by Lexa as the bolts rushed passed us slamming into the brick façade. Keith ducked in next, and then finally Peter rolled in as the guy slammed the door shut.

"How long can we hold this spot?" asked Peter as he stood back up.

"A couple minutes," Keith replied, "until the droids get here at least."

"Those robots have stopped," announced the girl as she peered out one of the windows.

"Great they're probably waiting for one of their commanders," Keith announced, and slowly reached up to unclasp his helmet. Pulling it off, he shook his head to rid it of sweat any other crud. The others did the same, taking a moment to rest, and relax. Keith turned to face Matt slowly. "What kept you?"

"Trius," returned Matt, setting his helmet down on a crate with his weapons next to it.

"You four are no older than us," remarked the girl as she stared wide eye at the Rangers.

"Wow," said one of the guys, "real Power Rangers."

"Who is she?" asked the other guy, staring intently at Lexa.

"Don't ask," warned Matt, as he perched himself on one of the crates.

"A better question is who are you?" asked Peter. "And why were the droids after you?"

"Kevin," announced the guy who had asked about Lexa. "And this is Taylor, and Fiona."

"Nice to meet you," offered Matt, as he gave a half wave. "We're the Power Rangers. That's Keith in red; Lexa in yellow; and Peter in black. I'm Matt."

"I thought the Power Rangers were just a television show," said Taylor, still in a stunned disbelief. "I mean I guess what we just went through says otherwise, but it's still kind of weird."

"Yeah, you're telling us," replied Matt.

"I do not sense any of the other Mobiums about," announced Lexa. "I cannot anticipate what they are attempting."

"What's a mobium?" asked Fiona.

"The bad guys," announced Peter.

"Well sort of," said Keith, sounding a bit annoyed by the statement his colleague had made. "The other mobiums are the ones controlling the droids."

"Others?" asked Kevin.

"It's a long story," Keith told him, "but the short version is I'm half a mobium, and Lexa over there is a full one."

"So what's separate the two of you from the ones trying to kill us?" asked Fiona.

"Again," Keith repeated, "that's a long story." He looked over at Peter, who slowly moved towards the window to peer out of it. "But I would imagine that your story is somewhat shorter."

The three young people looked at each other, and then slowly back at the Rangers. Taylor unslung his pack, and placed it on the dark concrete floor of the warehouse. Unzipping one of the pockets, he submerged his hand into its contents, until he finally pulled a strange looking device from it, and held it out for Keith to see. "I think they're looking for this."

"Lexa," ordered Keith, as he retreated back to one of the other windows.

Lexa walked over, and took the device from Taylor, and held it in her hands, examining it carefully. Flipping it over, she gave it back to Taylor. "Where did you find this?"

"A construction site about four blocks down," he reported. "We were cutting through it on the way to school, and I practically tripped over it."

Lexa turned to Keith, and explained to him mentally, without words what the object was. Keith turned back to him, and voiced his concern on the subject rather loudly, "A bomb?"

"A what?" asked Matt, standing upright, and backing up some.

"What did she say?" asked Peter at the same time, turning back towards the others.

"Woah get that thing away from me," said Fiona, retreating to a corner of the room.

"Did you miss the concept of discretion?" asked Lexa from where she stood. "It is not active, it will not detotnate. It is safe for the moment."

"Can it be activated by remote?" asked Peter.

"Negative," she confirmed. "It is in a sense offline."

"What was it doing in a construction site?" asked Matt.

"That's the ten thousand dollar question," returned Keith.

"Maybe we should ask one of the droids," joked Matt.

"Yeah," laughed Keith, "hopefully will find one of the talkative ones."

"So how are we going to get out of here?" asked Peter from his spot by the window.

"I'll take 'porting' for five hundred Alex," replied Matt.

"Guess will have too," said Keith, as he moved away from the window. His eyes began to glow as he channeled his mental energy into a single form. It stopped though as the sound of glass breaking filled the warehouse. Keith's eyes slowly went blank, and it was like he lost his balance, slowly following forward. Matt rushed forward and grabbed him by the arms, just as he was about to hit the floor. Only to see a big gaping hole in his rear armor. Peter smashed one of the window panes he was at, and poked his lance end through, returning the fire.

"Trius," reported Peter. "He was using some sort of sniper rifle or something. Stay away from the windows."

"Keith!" exclaimed Matt, as Keith failed to move or say anything after several moments. "C'mon buddy. Lexa."

Lexa walked over to the fallen Red Ranger, and placed a gloved hand on his arm. "Interfacing. Vitals weak, damage to several organs. He is unconscious, and requires medical aid."

"Great," announced Matt, "and we're pinned down." Slowly Lexa took Keith from Matt, and splayed him across the floor. Looking over her fallen leader cautiously she tried to prop his head up to make him as comfortable as possible, but she still worried that if they did not act quickly enough, this might be Keith's last stand.

"Matthew," she said softly, turning to look at the Blue Ranger. Matt stared back across the room, as he held his helmet in his hands. His look of worry echoed her own thoughts, and it offered her a little comfort to realize she wasn't the only panicking.

"I know," he said softly trying to provide a little comfort to the others. Suddenly he felt responsible for everyone else around him, like the weight of the world had crashed upon his shoulders when he wasn't looking. He wondered for an instant if this is what Keith went through every time they went into battle. He couldn't do this though with them seeing his face, and slowly his eyes drifted down to his helmet. He understood why the guise of the ranger at that moment. The helmet hid their face, whether it was their joy, their love, or their zeal; the helmet was anonymity, only their voice would betray their emotions, and that could be altered. Slowly he pulled the two halves apart, and over his head, and slipped it back on over his head, clasping it into place. Watching as the HUD in front of him became active again, he turned back towards Lexa, and nodded. "I know." Turning around he looked towards Peter, "Are they on the move?"

"No," replied the still helmetless Ranger from his position by the window. "The droids are still holding still." Matt turned back towards Lexa, and then back to the three teenagers still huddling in the corner. His eyes fell on the pack, with the strange alien explosive device in it, and then back towards the door. He only had to moments to consider his options, and once more he knew this to boot. He felt pressed for time, but being, he was becoming accustomed to this fact.

"Suit up," he ordered. Peter and Lexa shot each other concerned looks before obeying and retrieving their helmets from their resting places. "Can the yield be changed on that device?"

Lexa, now with her helmet replaced walked over and retrieved the weapon. "I believe so. How large of a yield do you desire?"

"Enough to destroy all those droids out there," Matt replied, slowly taking a hold of his Blazer. He let the grip settle slowly into his hand, and let his trigger finger slowly assert it's position. Lexa slowly examined the device and made small calibrations with her mind. Changing settings telekinetically was simple for a trainer warrior like her. Peter replaced his helmet upon his head, and slowly knelt down next to Keith. Slowly moving him, he readied himself to lift his fallen leader up.

Turning to face the Rangers, Fiona crossed her arms beneath her small bust, trying to ascertain what was about to happen. The Rangers appeared to communicate with their own language, and in one case with thoughts. That might be all and good for them, but her and her cohorts were not privy to this code, and considering they didn't have any form of protection like Ranger armor it meant that they were more susceptible to being hurt. "What exactly is the plan?"

The Blue Ranger turned slowly to the young girl, and from Fiona's perspective he almost gave off a vibe of annoyance. Matt felt no such emotion though, he was merely trying to consider how best to answer the question. He knew he needed them to be ready, but he didn't want to let them know that this plan might not work the way it should, and didn't want to scare them or endanger their morale. "When I say now, we're going to burst through the door, and make our own way out of here. You guys are to stay behind Peter."

"What about those robots?" asked Fiona softly.

"They won't be a problem," returned Matt.

"Ready," announced Lexa, replacing her helmet. "The yield setting has been configured properly. They may still be able to destroy it before it detonates."

"What about its purpose in the first place?" asked Taylor. "Aren't you guys concerned about why they left it where they did?"

"It's not my concern at the moment," replied Matt. "It's a good question, but we need to get out of here." Turning to Lexa, he nodded, and twisted his left wrist. A small compartment in his glove opened up, and a small disc like device was produced which slid into his glove. "I've been looking for the right time to test this. Can't think of a better one. You ready Peter?"

"Yes," replied Peter, picking up Keith carefully, and placing him behind his head, and on his shoulders. "On your word."

"I wonder if Trius knows he hit Keith?" asked Matt openly, more thinking aloud than anything else. "Well I suppose if he did, then Polaris would be here ready to take the rest of us out." Finding a form of relief in this statement he let out a large sigh, and then slowly turned to look towards the windows. Slowly approaching the window, he fingered the disc in his left hand. "When I say now, everyone cover their eyes. Now!" Casting the object from his hand it flew through one of the destroyed windows and into the street before it struck a wall and lodged itself into the wall.

Several of the droids lined in the front turned to face the object. It hummed for a second, and then erupted, creating a blinding flash that filled the alleyway, temporarily blinding the droids visual processors. However their auditory monitors detected a strange sound; almost as if something struck the ground, and bounced. They never saw the explosive device land in their mists, so they had no time to react as it exploded, engulfing the ones closest to it in flames. The ones that were somewhat further away were forced backwards, and metallic appendages were torn from their sockets. Second was all they needed to process the end result of what had just transpired, but it was enough for the door to the warehouse to open, and for the Blue Ranger to charge with his Blazer set to automatic fire mode, and lay down a stream of energy bolts that tore into the remaining army of droids.

Lexa and Peter were the next out, and Lexa's rays that came from her knucklers tore through the tattered remains of several droids often taking two at once for her troubles. Petere was ruight behind her, carrying their fallen leader, and unable to carry any weapon. His lance remained holstered in his leg mount, as the three teens charged behind him, quite frightened for their very lives. Matt pressed the battle forward, sprinting hedad first into the droid lines, and literally blasting the hell out of anything that moved in front of him. Lexa was no less mercufyl to these automations as she cleaned up any outbursts that Matt created in front of her, allowing Peter and the teenagers ample room to move through the crowd.

Now surrounded on all sides but what was left of the droids, but still pressing onwards, this is the time when things became most perilous. And it was in these moments that a stray shot, however unlucky it may be may find its mark for a positive. Such was the case of one of the mangled droids who had lost its other arm when the device had exploded. It had fired into the fleeing posse, and had missed one of the Rangers, but instead had found its mark onto Taylor, almost dead on too. The teenager was lifted up by the impact of the strike, and forced backwards onto the ground, as well as his back, flailing for but an instant before the bolt managed to burn a clean hole through him, temporarily cauterizing the wound, but the organ it had destroyed cause his system to shut down almost seconds later. Fiona turned around to look upon her fallen friend, and stopped briefly to cry out his name, though the lifeless Taylor was unable to hear her. Trying to leap to his aid, she felt an arm pulling her backwards as the Yellow Ranger tried to make sure there wasn't another fallen waiting to happen.

Matt turned just as he reached the end, seeing no more droids in his path, and raising both blasters in the air as Peter still holding Keith rushed past him. His plan had gotten them safely through, or at least he thought so as he watched Lexa pull Fiona backwards. He followed the young girl's gaze to the fallen Taylor, and watched his lifeless body for an instant, as he leveled his weapon at the remaining droids, and opened fire as Kevin rushed past him. He did not only out of reaction to the remaining enemy, but at the same time because there was a bubbling form of anger in his body that seemed to want to try and escape at that very instant. Instead of channeling it into rage, o r yelling he used as it as energy to continue what he did best as a Ranger. Point, and click. And fall is what the droids did, the remaining numbers could be counted on the fingers of two hands.

The Rangers had succeeded in escaping, but it had come with a heavy price, one none of them wanted to pay again. They returned Fiona and Kevin to their homes, as shaken as the teenagers were, but they could offer no other form of service. They had no time to console them for their losses, for the fate of one of their own hung the balance. We all know by now that Keith recovered, only to launch his plan to draw Polaris out with the Starwing.

The first innocent had fallen to these droids, but it would not be the last. The kid had merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time, with no fault at all on his part. Some would argue though that it didn't matter, because there was no such thing as coincidence, that this was part of his fate, as well as the Rangers. Keith would agree with this analysis of the situation, and though he kept it from his friend, he was sure Matt probably suspected the same thing. However, even though it had shaken the Blue Ranger as to his abilities to lead the rest of the team, it did not dissuade him, and if anything only strengthened his resolve to become a better leader. Even if the next time he would lead was the streets of San Francisco.


End file.
